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Intensive  Farming 

and  Use  of 

Dynamite 


Issued  by 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA  LINES 

June,  1911 


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P3  Z 


Copyrighted  1911 
BY 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD 


PRINTED  BY 

THE  LORD  BALTIMORE  PRESS 

BALTIMORE,  MD. 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Bar  for  Punching  Holes 51 

Bigtree  Stumps 31 

Blasting  Caps 93 

Blasting  by  Electricity 94 

Blasting  Machines 96 

Blasting  Supplies 93 

Boulder  Blasting 39 

Burning  Out  Stumps 17 

Caps:   Blasting 93 

Cap  Crimpers 94 

Cedar  Stumps :  Western 29 

Cellar  Digging 55 

Charging 91 

Clearing  Land 13 

Connecting  Wire 97 

Cultivating  Fruit  Trees.  . 79 

Cypress  Stumps  . 33 

Detonators    86 

Ditching 45 

Draining  Swamps 53 

Electrical  Blasting 94 

Electric  Fuzes 97 

Explosives:  Principle  of ...... , 85 

Felling  Trees    35 

Fir  Stumps:  Western.  . 29 

Foundations:    Excavating  for.  . 55 

Fuse 93 

Fuzes:  Electric 97 

3 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

PAGE 

Hardpan  Blasting    63 

Ice  Blasting 79 

Implements  Used  in  Land  Clearing 19 

Introduction    7 

Leading   Wire    97 

Log  Jams    82 

Log  Splitting 35 

Note    92 

Ordering 98 

Packages  of   Explosives 86 

Pine  Stumps :  Southern 25 

Pine  Stumps:  Western 29 

Planting  Fruit  Trees 71 

Plowing  with  Dynamite 63 

Post  Hole  Digging 57 

Precautions    99 

Priming    89-98 

Principle  of  Explosives 85 

Redwood  Stumps 31 

Road  Building    55 

Second-Growth  Stumps    27 

Sinking  Wells '^1 

Southern  Pine  Stumps •. 25 

Splitting  Logs 35 

Storage  of  Explosives 86 

Stump  Blasting 32 

4 


INDEX         CONTINUED 

PAGE 

Stump  Blasting;  Advantages  of 13 

"        Cost  of 15 

Gauging  the  Charge 15 

Proper  Explosive  for 14 

Subsoil  Blasting 63 

Swamp  Draining 53 

Tamping 92 

Thawing  of  Dynamite 87 

Thawing  Kettles 87 

Transportation  of   Explosives 86 

Tree  Felling 35 

Tree  Planting  and  Cultivating. 71 

Well  Sinking 57 

Western  Cedar  Stumps 29 

Western   Fir   Stumps 29 

Western  Pine  Stumps 29 

Wire:  Leading  and  Connecting 97 


INTRODUCTION 


NOT  many  years  ago  the  farm  was  about  the  last  place  where 
one  would  expect  to  find  up-to-date  mechanical  appliances. 

Steam,  explosives,  electricity — the  factors  which  have  made 
the  world  what  it  is  to-day — were  indispensable  for  the  railroad 
and  the  steamboat,  the  factory  and  the  mine,  but  the  farmer's  work 
was  generally  run  on  a  comparatively  small  scale,  and  was  mostly 
done  by  the  muscles  of  men  or  draft  animals.  To-day,  however, 
the  farmer,  as  well  as  the  manufacturer,  the  contractor  and  the  miner, 
fully  appreciates  the  value  of  labor-saving  devices.  Every  up-to-date 
farm,  large  or  small,  has  modern  machinery  that  tends  to  reduce 
the  cost  of  production  or  to  improve  farm  products. 

Explosives  were  first  used  in  warfare  and  hunting,  then  for 
blasting.  Their  early  use  in  mining  and  excavating  was  very  limited, 
but  it  did  not  take  long  to  learn  that,  if  used  in  the  right  way,  they 
could  do  in  an  instant  as  much  work  as  a  man,  or  even  a  machine, 
could  do  in  many  days.  As  soon  as  this  was  understood,  explosives 
were  applied  to  new  kinds  of  work  and  special  kinds  of  explosives 
were  produced,  particularly  adapted  to  these  new  uses. 

The  history  of  the  use  of  explosives  in  farming  has  been  much 
the  same  as  in  other  industries.  At  first  it  was  supposed  that  they 
could  only  be  used  for  loosening  stumps,  so  that  they  could  be  dug 
out  more  easily.  Later  on,  after  stump  blasting  had  been  carefully 
studied,  and  more  suitable  and  cheaper  explosives  manufactured,  it 
was  found  that  by  far  the  cheapest  and  quickest  way  to  get  rid  of 
a  stump  of  any  size,  no  matter  what  kind  of  soil  it  stood  in,  was 
to  lift  it  completely  out  of  the  ground,  and  split  it  up  at  the  same 
time,  with  explosives. 

About  this  time  it  was  discovered  that  it  was  cheaper  to  blast 
out  boulders  and  plant  the  ground  they  occupied  than  to  plow  around 
them.  Then  some  enterprising  farmer  who  had  had  trouble  with 
foundations  settling,  decided  that  it  was  a  good  plan  to  build  his 
house  and  his  barns  on  rock,  and  learned  that  it  did  not  cost  much 


INTRODUCTION 

to  do  the  necessary  blasting  for  foundations  and  cellars.  This  led 
to  the  idea  of  blasting  the  rock  encountered  in  digging  drains,  and 
in  using  a  small  quantity  of  explosives  to  hurry  along  the  work 
of  digging  holes  for  fence  posts  and  for  poles.  The  rock  met  with 
in  sinking  wells  was  soon  cut  through  with  explosives.  Early  in 
the  spring,  when  the  ice  came  down  the  streams,  and  a  gorge  at 
the  bridge  threatened  to  cause  a  flood  and  carry  away  the  bridge 
too,  a  little  dynamite  quickly  relieved  the  situation.  In  lumber 
districts,  log  jams  were  started  in  the  same  way,  and  the  use  of  a 
small  quantity  of  explosives  saved  time  and  trouble  on  the  roUway. 

A  few  years  ago  the  plan  of  breaking  up  hardpan  and  other 
impervious  subsoils  was  tried  by  Samuel  J.  Crawford,  then  gov- 
ernor of  Kansas,  and  a  number  of  other  influential  Kansans  who 
were  interested  in  farming.  The  results  of  their  experiments  were 
so  successful  that  hardpan  is  now  being  blasted  quite  generally,  and 
many  acres  of  land,  which  were  practically  worthless  before  they 
were  blasted,  are  now  bearing  phenomenal  crops. 

The  most  recently  discovered  plan  of  saving  money  by  using 
dynamite  is  in  blasting  ditches  and  in  draining  swamps  by  blowing 
holes  through  the  impervious  clay  under  them.  Dynamite  has  long 
been  used  to  shatter  rock  encountered  in  digging  drains  and  ditches, 
but  ditches  through  earth  have  never  been  excavated  entirely  with 
explosives  until  recently. 

Many  fruit  growers  know  how  great  a  help  dynamite  is  in 
planting  fruit  trees  and  in  keeping  them  thrifty.  The  ground  where 
the  tree  is  to  be  planted  can  be  loosened  up,  and  the  hole  partly 
dug,  in  a  moment,  by  exploding  a  very  small  charge  of  dynamite 
a  short  distance  below  the  surface. 

Good  roads  about  the  farm  are  practically  indispensable,  and 
they  cannot  be  built  quickly  or  cheaply  without  at  least  some  ex- 
plosives. 

Explosives  are  also  used  to  advantage  for  splitting  logs  for 
rails  or  any  other  purpose,  for  felling  trees,  destroying  old  buildings 
and  for  almost  any  kind  of  work  where  a  strong  force,  quickly  ap- 
plied, is  desirable.  Dynamite  is  simply  concentrated  power  or 
condensed  strength.  In  order  to  have  it  work  in  the  correct  way, 
and  move  in  the  right  direction,  it  must  be  properly  harnessed  and 
the  bit  kept  in  its  mouth,  but  this  is  easily  done  if  the  directions 
given  in  this  handbook  are  followed  intelligently. 

9 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 


As  time  passes,  farmers  will  find  other  ways  of  saving  money 
by  using  explosives,  for  the  demand  for  farm  products  is  increasing 
so  rapidly  that  greater  acreage  must  be  put  under  cultivation,  and 
the  old  acres  must  increase  their  yield.  In  order  to  do  this  success- 
fully and  to  meet  competition,  every  device  and  arrangement  that 
really  saves  labor  and  makes  for  economy,  either  in  the  present  or 
the  future,  must  be  adopted.  The  farmer  who  fails  to  realize 
this,  and  still  believes  that  he  can  get  along  in  the  old  way,  will 
soon  find  himself  hopelessly  defeated. 


10 


THE  FIRST  STAGE 


CLEARING   THE   LAND 


BLASTING  OUT  STUMPS 
FELLING  TREES 
SPLITTING  LOGS 
BLASTING  BOULDERS 


A    FUTURE    SUBJECT 


CLEARING  THE  LAND 


■pVER  since  the  first  white  man  started  a  permanent  settlement 
■■-^  in  this  country,   the  transformation  of  forests  into   farms  has 

been  continuous.  So  great  is  the  total  of  land  clearing  opera- 
tions to-day,  and  so  large  is  the  annual  expenditure  in  this  work, 
that  it  has  become  a  factor  of  prime  importance  in  the  national 
economy,  and  the  necessity  for  a  careful  study  of  all  of  its  phases, 
to  the  end  of  improving  the  various  methods  now  in  practice,  is  every- 
where recognized. 

If,  after  the  passing  of  the  wood-chopper  and  the  sawmill,  the 
land  were  ready  for  the  plow,  there  would  be  no  problem  to  solve; 
but  a  great  area  covered  with  stumps — thirty,  fifty,  a  hundred,  two 
hundred  to  the  acre — often  with  boulders  scattered  here  and  there, 
is  very  far  from  a  crop-bearing  proposition.  This,  however,  is  what 
many  of  our  farms  are  made  from,  and  the  question  is,  how  to 
bring  about  the  necessary  transformation  without  spending  more 
than  the  probable  returns  will  warrant. 

For  generations  farmers  have  chopped,  burned  and  dug  away 
at  stumps  which  have  slowly  yielded  to  their  efforts.  To-day  a 
quicker  and  more  effective  way  of  getting  rid  of  them  is  imperative. 
The  subject  has  been  studied  and  experimented  with  for  years  by 
the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  National  Government  and  of 
different  States,  by  many  large  land  companies,  by  railroads  and 
by  thousands  of  individuals.  Numerous  ideas  and  plans  have  been 
suggested  and  worked  out,  but  none  of  them  has  been  successful  or 
economical  without  the  use  of  dynamite.  When  explosives  are 
properly  used,  stumps  and  boulders  are  not  only  blasted  out  of  the 
ground,  but  are  at  the  same  time  broken  into  pieces  which  can  be 
easily  handled — burned,  if  stumps,  or,  if  boulders,  used  for  build- 
ing roads,  etc. 

When  a  stump  is  properly  blasted,  but  little  of  the  soil  is  thrown 
out  with  it,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  spend  time  and  money  clearing 
the  earth  from  the  roots,  and  filling  a  great  hole  in  the  ground,  as 
must  be  done  when  the  stump  is  taken  out  with  a  stump  puller. 

13 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

Neither  is  any  special  fertilization  of  the  spot  formerly  occupied 
by  the  stump  necessary  to  bring  it  into  proper  crop-bearing  condi- 
tion, as  must  be  done  after  a  stump  has  been  burned  out. 

Only  a  very  small  outlay  is  necessary  at  one  time  when  explo- 
sives are  used,  and  one  man  can  work  with  them  just  as  well  as  a 
dozen  or  a  hundred.     When  the  proper  explosive  is  selected,  and 


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when  it  is  used  in  the  right  way,  there  is  no  cheaper  method  of  get- 
ting rid  of  stumps  or  boulders. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  dynamite,  each  expressly  intended  to 
do  a  particular  kind  of  work,  and  as  the  conditions  under  which 
stumps  and  boulders  are  blasted  differ  widely,  it  is  not  possible  to 
recommend  any  one  grade  for  general  use. 

14 


CLEARING         THE         LAND 

On  the  Pacific  Slope,  where  the  stumps  are  of  great  size,  stump- 
ing powder  is  the  favorite,  but  in  other  parts  of  this  country,  where 
the  stumps  are  smaller,  dynamite  is  used  almost  exclusively. 

It  is  equally  difficult  to  state  accurately,  the  quantity  or  strength 
of  the  explosive  necessary  to  blast  out  a  stump  of  a  given  diameter. 
This  is  because  the  size  of  the  stump  is  not  the  only  factor,  and 
perhaps  not  even  the  most  important  one,  to  consider  when  esti- 
mating the  charge  required.  Whether  the  soil  in  which  the  stump 
stands  is  wet  or  dry,  light  or  heavy,  the  kind  of  wood,  age  of  the 
stump,  the  nature  and  position  of  the  roots,  etc.,  are  all  matters  of 
great  importance  when  determining  the  quantity,  strength  and  loca- 
tion of  the  charge  of  explosives.  Careful  records  have,  however, 
been  kept  of  the  cost  of  explosives,  including  blasting  caps  and 
fuse  or  electric  fuzes,  used  in  blasting  stumps  in  different  parts  of 
the  country,  some  of  which  we  give  below : 

Average  Cost 
Average  of  Explosives 

Diameter  per  Stump 

768  Southern  Pine  Stumps 29"  30c 

78  Oak,  Walnut,  Gum,  etc..  Stumps  in  Illinois  30"  53c 
329  White    Pine,    Oak,    Maple,    Birch,    etc.. 

Stumps  in  Michigan 32"  47c 

37  Apple,  Ash,  Oak  and  Chestnut  Stumps  in 

Pennsylvania    34^2'  56c 

11  Washington  Fir  Stumps 50"  $1.13 

The  explosive  used  in  most  cases,  except  for  blasting  the  Wash- 
ington firs,  was  40  per  cent,  dynamite.  The  fir  stumps  were  blasted 
with  20  per  cent,  strength  stumping  powder  and  low  powder  (5 
per  cent,  strength).  These  calculations  are  based  on  retail,  not 
wholesale  prices. 

Records  kept  by  A.  J.  McGuire,  Superintendent  of  the  North- 
east Experimental  Farm  of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  show 
even  lower  costs. 

Some  of  Mr.  McGuire's  records  are  as  follows : 

Average  Cost 
Average  of  Explosives 

Diameter  per  Stump 

255  Popple 14"  12c 

255  Jack  Pine,  Norway  Pine  and  White  Pine      14%"  18c 

395  Birch.  Ash,  Spruce,  Pine,  etc 20"  1 6c 

15 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

Mr.  McGuire  used  25  per  cent,  to  40  per  cent,  ammonia 
dynamite,  and  states  that  the  best  and  most  economical  results  were 
had  with  25  per  cent,  and  27  per  cent,  grades. 

The  Iowa  State  College  recently  blasted  eighty-two '  oak  and 
elm  stumps  and  trees  averaging  20  inches  in  diameter,  at  an  aver- 
age cost  of  about  38  cents  each  for  explosives. 

On  a  large  land  clearing  operation  in  Minnesota  during  the 
summer  of  1909,  eight  thousand,  nine  hundred  and  seventy  stumps 
were  blasted  out.     Although  a  considerable  number  of  these  were 


WASHINGTON    FIR   STUMPS 


large  pine  stumps,  an  average  of  less  than  three-quarters  of  a  pound 
of  dynamite  per  stump  was  used. 

Accurate  records  of  the  cost  of  blasting  stumps  on  a  Long  Island 
farm,  including  the  wages  of  the  men  who  did  the  work,  were 
recently  kept  by  representatives  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad  Com- 

16 


CLEARING         THE         LAND 

pany.  The  entire  cost  of  blasting  out  and  burning  up  one  hundred 
stumps  was  only  $  1 6. 

Although  one  unaccustomed  to  using  explosives  might  find  the 
costs  running  higher  at  the  start  than  some  of  those  given  above, 
it  does  not  require  an  unusual  amount  of  experience  to  learn  approxi- 
mately the  minimum  charge  required  to  blast  stumps. 

When  cut-over  land,  which  is  covered  with  stumps  and 
boulders,  can  be  cleared,  and  turned  into  farms  at  a  profit,  it  is 
hard  to  understand  why  anyone  should  let  stumps  or  boulders  take 
up  valuable  land,  plowing  around  them  year  after  year.  A  lot  of 
time  is  wasted  swinging  around  even  a  few  stumps  and  boulders 
when  plowing  a  field,  to  say  nothing  of  the  damage  to  plow,  harness 
and  team  if  a  root  is  struck.  Besides  this,  each  medium-sized  stump, 
with  its  spreading  roots,  or  even  a  comparatively  small  boulder, 
will  take  up  the  space  of  many  stalks  of  corn  or  of  other  crops.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  a  single  stump  of  average  size  occupies  as 
much  ground  as  would  support  six  hills  of  corn. 


The  corn  from  six  hills  would  in  a  very  few  years 
pay  for  enough  dynamite  to  blow  out  many  stumps 
and    boulders. 


One  suggestion  which  should  be  made  to  those  who  have  land 
to  clear  is:  Always  do  your  stump  blasting,  if  possible,  when  the 
ground  is  wet.  Almost  every  kind  of  ground  when  it  is  wet,  offers 
stronger  resistance  to  the  action  of  dynamite  than  it  does  when  dry. 
Therefore,  when  the  ground  is  wet  a  stump  or  boulder  can  be 
blasted  out  with  less  dynamite  than  when  the  same  ground  is  dry. 

One  of  the  most  objectionable  methods  of  trying  to  get  rid  of 
stumps  is  burning  them  out.  When  stumps  have  been  blasted  out 
and  split  up  with  dynamite,  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  heap  up  the 
pieces  and  burn  them,  but  to  burn  a  standing  stump  is  a  different 
proposition.  Those  who  have  tried  it  can  testify  to  the  time  spent 
in  keeping  the  fire  going,  and  that  it  is  practically  impossible  in  this 
way  to  get  rid  of  much  of  the  stump  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Probably  the  worst  feature  of  burning  out  stumps  is  the  damage 

17 


1-  ^ 

<      10 

I  5 


CLEARING         T    H    E         LAND 

done  to  the  ground  by  the  fire,  which  burns  out  the  humus  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  requires  much  cultivation  to  bring  the  ground  where 
the  stump  was  burned  into  good  condition.  The  following  from 
the  Tacoma,  Wash.,  "Ledger"  of  October  20,  1909,  explains  very 
clearly  the  damage  done  to  new  land  by  burning  out  stumps : 

"Last  summer  Prof.  W.  J.  McGee,  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  in  cooperation  with  Prof.  Henry 
Landes,  Dr.  Benson  and  Dr.  Fry,  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity, studied  the  best  methods  of  utilizing  cut-over  or 
logged-off  lands.  Prof.  McGee  gives  some  of  the  find- 
ings, and  they  argue  strongly  against  burning  cut-over 
lands.  Fire  destroys  the  humus  in  the  soil,  and  when  the 
humus  is  gone,  the  fertility  is  greatly  lessened.  The  danger 
of  burning  logged-off  lands  is  that  the  fire  will  burn  the 
humus  for  some  distance  below  the  surface.  When  the 
humus  is  burned  out,  it  takes  time  to  build  up  a  fertile 
soil  again.  The  fire  destroys  the  work  it  took  nature 
many  years  to  do." 

The  implements  needed  in  stump  and  boulder  blasting  are  few 
and  inexpensive,  and  most  of  them  are  always  to  be  found  on  the 
farm. 

Big  stumps  like  those  found  along  the  Pacific  Coast  usually 
require  a  comparatively  bulky  charge  of  low-grade  explosives, 
which  means  that  a  large  hole  must  be  dug.  In  case  the  stump  is 
very  large  it  is  best  to  dig  a  trench  under  it,  using  a  little  dynamite 
to  assist  in  the  digging.  In  this  work  a  pick  or  mattock  and  a  long- 
handle  shovel  are  necessary.  As  a  matter  of  fact  these  two  tools, 
and  an  axe,  are  usually  required,  no  matter  how  the  hole  for  the 
explosive  is  made. 

For  medium-size  and  smaller  stumps,  a  two-inch  wood  augur 
to  drill  under  the  stump  (and  into  the  tap  root  if  there  is  one),  is 
necessary,  and  a  crowbar  with  one  pointed  end  and  one  chisel  end 
is  very  useful.  One  of  the  most  important  implements  used  in  stump 
blasting,  is  the  tamping  stick.  This  must  have  no  metal  about  it. 
The  tamping  sticks  used  on  the  Pacific  Coast  are  six  to  eight  feet 
long  and  two  to  three  inches  in  diameter.  For  tamping  the  holes 
under  other  stumps  a  stick  five  or  six  feet  long  and  one  and  a  half 
inches  in  diameter  is  large  enough. 

19 


CLEARING 


THE 


LAND 


For  blasting  large  boulders  it  may  be  necessary  to  use  a  ham- 
mer and  hand  drill,  unless  they  are  to  be  broken  by  mudcapping 
or  by  placing  the  explosive  underneath  them.  The  hole  under  the 
boulder  can  be  made  with  a  crowbar.  If  the  boulder  is  drilled, 
a  small  tamping  stick,  from  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in 
diameter  should  be  used.  If  the  charge  is  put  under  the  boulder, 
the  tamping  stick  should  be  one  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter  and 
five  or  six  feet  long.  Hardwood  tamping  sticks  are,  of  course,  best, 
because  they  last  longest. 


ONE    MORE   OUT   OF   THE    WAY 


21 


BLASTING  STUMPS 


¥T  IS  usually  necessary  in  blasting  stumps  to  place  the  charge  as 
*'  close  as  possible  to  the  toughest  part  of  the  stump,  so  that  the 
part  most  difficult  to  break  will  be  hit  first  and  hardest.  Gen- 
erally this  spot  will  be  directly  under  the  middle  of  the  stump,  and 
it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  bore  into  the  tap  root.  When  a  very 
big  stump  is  rotten  at  the  middle,  but  has  several  large  branching 
roots,  better  results  will  be  had  if  the  charge  is  increased  a  little 
and  located  deeper  in  the  ground,  or  if  under  each  of  the  large  roots 
a  small  charge  is  placed,  and  all  of  the  charges  fired  simultaneously 
with  a  blasting  machine. 


STUMP   BOUND  WITH   CHAIN 


In  order  to  keep  the  explosive  from  splitting  the  stump,  and 
wasting  a  part  of  the  force  which  should  be  expended  in  lifting 
it  out,  it  is  the  practice  of  some  blasters  to  wind  a  stout  chain  around 
the  stump  several  times.  It  is  a  good  idea  to  use  a  chain  with  all 
hollow  stumps. 

Some  large  stumps  can  be  effectively  removed  by  exploding 
simultaneously  charges  loaded  in  holes  bored  from  different  sides, 
so  that  they  will  intersect  under  the  center  of  the  stump.  The 
cartridge  containing  the  detonator   (blasting  cap  or  electric  fuze) 

23 


CLEARING         THE         LAND 

should  be  loaded  first,  so  that  it  will  be  at  the  intersection  of  the 
holes;  then  the  different  holes  should  be  loaded,  making  sure  that 
the  first  cartridge  in  each  hole  touches  the  primer  (the  cartridge 
containing  the  detonator).  When  the  primer  is  exploded,  it  will 
explode  the  entire  charge. 

If  the  above  directions  are  closely  adhered  to,  the  general  run 
of  stumps  can  be  blown  out  satisfactorily  and  cheaply.  The  stumps 
of  some  kinds  of  trees,  however,  require  special  treatment  to  get  the 
best  results,  and  detailed  instructions  concerning  them  are  given  in 
the  following  pages. 

Southern  Pine  Stumps 

The  use  of  explosives  in  blasting  southern  pine  stumps,  espec- 
ially in  very  sandy  soils,  has  not  been  generally  recommended  in 
the  past,  because  the  cost  has  seemed  high  in  comparison  with  the 
value  of  the  land.  The  increased  value  of  land  and  the  improve- 
ments in  explosives  have,  however,  now  made  it  entirely  feasible  to 
remove  these  stumps  with  dynamite.  This  work  can  be  done  with 
less  dynamite,  if  a  good  team  of  horses  with  a  bull  chain  is  used  to 
pull  out  pieces  and  drag  them  from  the  field. 

Pine  stumps  should  be  considered  in  two  classes — those  with 
tap  roots  and  those  without.  The  first  part  of  a  pine  stump  to  rot  is 
the  tap  root,  and  a  field  that  looks  very  discouraging  will  often  be 
found  easy  to  clear. 

In  blasting  southern  pine  stumps  the  important  feature  is  to 
place  the  explosive  close  to  the  point  of  greatest  resistance,  which 
is  in  the  tap  root  directly  under  the  center  of  the  stump.  This 
tap  root  can  usually  be  located  by  digging  underneath  the  smooth 
side  of  the  stump.  When  the  tap  root  is  located,  dig  an  opening, 
one  to  two  feet  deep,  down  by  the  side  of  the  tap  root;  then  bore 
an  augur  hole  two  inches  in  diameter  into  the  tap  root  on  an  angle 
of  from  35  degrees  to  50  degrees.  The  augur  hole  should  be 
bored  not  less  than  three-quarters  of  the  way  through  the  tap  root; 
care  being  taken  not  to  drill  entirely  through,  for  by  so  doing  a 
great  deal  of  the  explosive  force  would  be  wasted  in  the  back  of 
the  hole,  which  would  then  be  in  the  ground.  Load  with  from  one 
to  three  1  \^4  x  8-inch  cartridges  (depending  on  the  size  and  age  of 
the  stump),  of  40  per  cent,  dynamite,  and  tamp  firmly  to  the  sur- 
face with  damp  clay.     The  blast  will  cut  off  the  tap  root  twenty 

25 


BLASTING   STUMPS    AT    IVOR,    VIRGINIA 


CLEARING         THE         LAND 

to  thirty-six  inches  below  the  surface  and  turn  out  the  stump  in 
pieces.  These  stumps  can  also  be  blown  out  without  taking  the 
time  to  bore  into  the  tap  root,  if  a  little  larger  charge  of  dynamite 
be  placed  firmly  against  the  tap  root  a  foot  or  two  below  the  sur- 
face and  closely  confined  with  tamping.  A  convenient  implement 
for  making  the  hole  in  the  ground  when  blasting  in  this  way  is  a  three- 
inch  post-hole  augur. 

When  the  tap  root  is  to  be  bored  into,  it  is  advisable  to  use  a 
two-inch  wood  auger,  as  the  dynamite  can  then  be  more  closely 
compressed  under  the  center  of  the  stump  where  the  resistance  is 
greatest.  If  clay  cannot  be  found  to  tamp  the  charge  under  the 
first  stump  blasted,  use  sand.  After  one  stump  is  blasted,  you  can 
usually  find  good  tamping  material  at  the  bottom  of  its  roots. 

Careful  record  was  recently  kept,  in  order  to  arrive  definitely 
at  the  exact  cost  of  explosives  necessary  to  properly  blast  out  these 
southern  pine  stumps.  Three  hundred  and  twenty-five  stumps  were 
blasted  which  averaged  in  diameter  28|/2  inches,  and  the  cost  of 
explosives,  including  dynamite  fuze  and  blasting  caps,  or  electric 
fuzes,  averaged  a  little  more  than  1 8  cents  per  stump. 

Southern  pine  stumps  without  tap  roots  are  sometimes  found 
in  land  having  a  sandy  top  soil  with  a  hard  subsoil.  In  this  case 
30  per  cent,  dynamite  may  give  the  best  results.  The  charge 
should  be  placed  under  the  middle  of,  and  as  close  to  the  stump  as 
possible. 

Second-Growth  Stumps 

There  is  often  directly  under  a  second-growth  stump,  the 
decayed  remains  of  the  original  stump;  this  is  soft,  and  the  force  of 
the  explosive  when  placed  on  it,  seems  to  merely  scatter  this  dead 
wood  and  has  no  marked  effect  upon  the  stump.  To  overcome 
this  difficulty,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  dig  under  the  stump  and  place 
a  good-sized  flat  stone  between  the  roots,  leaving  only  room  on 
top  of  the  stone  for  the  dynamite.  Damp  clay  should  then  be 
firmly  packed  around  the  dynamite.  This  gives  the  explosive  suffi- 
cient resistance  to  lift  out  the  stump.  30  or  40  per  cent,  dynamite 
should  be  used.  It  should  be  remembered  that  best  results  will  be 
had  from  the  explosives  recommended  for  blasting  the  above  stumps, 
if  they  are  exploded  with  No.  6  or  stronger  detonators. 

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GETTING   THE   FARM   IN   SHAPE 

Western  Fir,  Pine  and  Cedar  Stumps 

In  the  States  of  Washington,  Oregon  and  California,  where 
the  rainfall  is  large  and  the  ground  in  the  forests  is  always  damp, 
many  of  the  trees  grow  to  great  size — some  being  eight  or  ten  feet 
in  diameter.  The  roots  of  these  trees  usually  spread  out  near  the 
surface  and  do  not  grow  deep  into  the  ground,  as  might  be  expected, 
tap  roots  being  extremely  rare.  The  object  when  blasting  the 
stumps  of  these  trees  is  not  to  split  them,  but  to  bring  them  out 
entire  at  one  blast,  with  all  of  the  roots  possible,  because  if  the 
charge  of  explosives  is  so  gauged  and  located  as  to  split  the  stump, 
it  generally  fails  to  bring  out  all  of  the  pieces.  As  the  principal 
object  is  to  get  out  as  much  of  the  stump  as  possible  at  a  minimum 
cost,  it  is  better  to  blast  it  out  first  and  then  it  can  be  easily  split 
afterward,  by  means  of  a  small  quantity  of  dynamite  exploded  in 
auger  holes. 

The  common  rule  in  blasting  these  stumps  is  to  use  one  and 
one-half  pounds  of  stumping  powder  per  foot  of  diameter,  with 
stumps  up  to  four  feet,  when  the  bottom  is  clay.  For  larger  sizes  it 
is  advisable  to  use  two  to  two  and  one-half  pounds  of  this  powder 
for  each  foot  in  diameter.  For  stumps  in  gravelly  or  loose  ground 
one  pound  more  should  be  used  for  each  foot  in  diameter. 

The  charge  of  explosives  is  best  placed  when  there  is  sixteen 
to  twenty-four  inches  of  earth  between  the  charge  and  the  bottom 
of  the  stump.  This  results  in  the  force  of  the  explosion  radiating 
to  all  sides,  lifting  the  stump  clear  of  the  ground,  and  bringing  with 
it  the  greatest  length  of  roots.  If  the  charge  is  placed  too  close 
to  the  stump,  the  effect  is  to  split  it,  leaving  the  roots  to  be  dug  out 
at  extra  labor  and  expense.  It  is  advisable  with  large  stumps  to 
chamber,  or  expand,  the  bottom  of  the  hole,  so  that  the  entire  charge 
can  be  concentrated  under  the  center  of  the  stump.  To  do 
this  a  hole  is  bored  beneath  the  stump  by  means  of  a  dirt  auger 
or  small  post-hole  auger.  In  this  hole  a  small  charge  is  usually 
exploded  with  fuse  and  blasting  cap  and  no  tamping  is  used.  The 
quantity  of  explosives  to  be  used  in  chambering,  depends,  of  course 
on  the  size  of  the  charge  necessary  to  blast  out  the  stump.  Usually 
from  half  a  cartridge  to  two  cartridges  of  stumping  powder  will 
be  sufficient.  After  the  hole  is  chambered  the  blasting  charge  should 
be  loaded  in  the  usual  way  and  thoroughly  tamped. 

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CLEARING         THE         LAND 


Redwood  and  *Bigtree  Stumps 

The  best  explosive  for  these  stumps  is  a  comparatively  slov\^- 
acting  explosive,  w^hich  has  more  of  a  lifting  and  heaving,  than  a 
shattering   effect. 

The  vs^ay  to  approximatel)^  estimate  the  quantity  of  explosive 
necessary  to  blast  out  stumps  larger  than  eight  feet  in  diameter,  is 
to  square  the  largest  diameter  in  feet,  the  result  being  approximately 
the  number  of  pounds  required.  For  example,  if  a  stump  is  eight 
feet  in  diameter  the  largest  way,  the  charge  should  be  about  sixty- 
four  pounds.  Stumps  less  than  eight  feet  in  diameter  require  a 
little  greater  charge  for  their  size  than  do  the  larger  stumps,  and 
the  rule  with  them  is  to  use  as  many  pounds  as  eight  times  the  largest 
diameter  in  feet.  On  this  basis  a  stump  six  feet  in  diameter  would 
need  about  forty-eight  pounds  of  powder.  However,  the  success- 
ful blasting  of  these  large  stumps  depends  greatly  on  the  judgment 
of  the  blaster,  and  these  rules  can  only  be  considered  as  a  general 
guide.  This  can  easily  be  understood  when  it  is  remembered  that, 
owing  to  difference  in  soil  or  some  peculiarity  in  the  growth  of  the 
tree,  it  sometimes  requires  the  same  quantity  of  explosives  to  properly 
bring  out  a  stump  six  feet  in  diameter  as  it  does  one  eight  feet  in 
diameter. 

In  blasting  these  stumps  a  trench  is  dug  large  enough  to  per- 
mit placing  the  entire  charge  of  explosives  directly  underneath  the 
center  of  the  stump.  A  little  dynamite  blasted  in  holes  punched 
with  a  crowbar  will  prove  of  great  assistance  in  digging  this  trench. 
If  low  powder  is  used  and  the  ground  is  wet,  the  charge  should  be 
placed  in  a  waterproof  bag. 

A  detonator  equivalent  to,  or  stronger  than,  a  No.  6  blasting 
cap,  or  electric  fuze,  should  always  be  used  in  one  of  the  prim- 
ing cartridges.  The  proper  way  to  make  the  primer  is  shown  on 
pages  88  and  90.  If  several  cartridges  are  used  as  a  primer,  they 
should  be  tied  in  a  compact  bundle  with  the  primed  cartridge  in 
the  center. 

Avoid  being  on  the  same  side  of  the  stump  as  the  trench  when 
the  blast  is  fired,  as  fragments,  etc.,  are  thrown  with  more  violence 
and  to  greater  distances  on  that  side. 

*   Bigtree"  is  the  name  given  to  the  "Sequoia  Washingtoniana,"  one  of  the  gigantic  trees  of  the  Pacific  Northwest. 

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CLEARING         THE         LAND 

Stumping  powder  is  also  used  in  blasting  California  redwood 
stumps.  The  illustration  on  page  28  shows  two  large  redwood 
stumps  which  had  practically  one  root  below  the  surface,  although 
this  root  had  separated  above  ground  into  two  trees.  The  cir- 
cumference of  the  stump  just  above  the  surface  of  the  ground  was 
seventy-five  feet.  This  stump  was  completely  removed,  as  shown 
on  pages  28,  30  and  32,  with  ninety-three  pounds  of  stumping 
powder.  Six  trenches  were  dug  under  the  stump  at  different  points, 
five  of  these  being  loaded  each  with  twenty-five  1  Yl  x  8-inch  car- 
tridges of  this  explosive,  and  the  sixth  with  thirty  1  Yi  x  8-inch 
cartridges.  These  charges  were  then  connected  up  electrically,  and 
the  trenches  were  thoroughly  and  compactly  tamped  above  the 
explosives  to  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  six  charges  were 
then  fired  simultaneously  with  a  blasting  machine.  The  illustration 
on  page  28  shows  the  blasting  machine  used  and  the  cartridges  of 
stumping  powder  on  the  ground  preparatory  to  charging  the  trenches. 


Cypress  Stumps 

Cypress  stumps  are  found,  as  a  rule,  in  swamps  where  the 
soil  is  a  soggy  muck  often  covered  with  water.  Through  the  land- 
reclaiming  operations  in  the  Southern  States  many  of  these  swamps 
have  been  drained,  leaving  land  of  wonderful  fertility.  The  cypress 
stumps  have  no  tap  root,  but  have  large  "spreaders"  reaching  out  in 
all  directions  to  such  an  extent  that  they  are  interwoven  with  those 
of  neighboring  stumps,  forming  a  tangle  of  roots  that  never  rot. 
The  strongest  and  quickest  dynamite  in  the  hands  of  careful  blasters 
gives  the  best  results  in  this  work.  The  common  practice  is  to  place 
1  '/4  X  8-inch  cartridges  under  each  of  the  principal  spreaders,  and 
fire  all  simultaneously  by  means  of  a  blasting  machine.  The  cypress 
wood,  being  extremely  soft,  splits  easily,  and  the  quick  explosive 
shatters  the  stump  and  releases  it  from  the  entangling  roots. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  best  results  in  blasting  cypress  stumps  the 
electric  system  of  blasting  should  be  employed.  Sixty  per  cent, 
dynamite  detonated  with  a  No.  6  electric  fuze  is  recommended  for 
this  work. 

When  cypress  stumps  are  not  blasted  until  after  the  swamps 
have  been  drained,  40  per  cent,  dynamite  should  be  used. 

33 


CLEARING         THE         LAND 

FELLING  TREES 

Occasionally  when  clearing  land  of  growing  timber,  it  is  of 
advantage  to  blast  out  the  entire  tree  and  saw  off  the  root  after- 
ward. The  process  here  is  exactly  the  same  as  in  stump  blasting, 
but  little,  if  any,  more  dynamite  being  required  to  bring  out  the 
tree,  roots  and  all,  than  to  blast  the  stump  after  the  tree  has  been 
cut.  The  blast  lifts  the  tree  straight  up  a  foot  or  two;  then  it  falls, 
generally  with  the  wind. 

SPLITTING  STUMPS  AND  LOGS 

When  stumps,  particularly  large  ones,  are  blasted  out  whole 
or  nearly  so,  it  is  usually  necessary  to  split  them  up  so  that  they  can 
be  conveniently  handled  or  burned.  This  can  be  readily  accom^ 
plished  with  dynamite;  only  a  small  quantity  being  required,  if  the 
charge  is  properly  tamped  in  auger  holes  bored  part  way  through 
the  stump. 

In  the  South  the  pine  stumps  are  very  large  producers  of  tur- 
pentine and  by-products.  Before  the  wood  in  the  stump  can  be 
distilled,  it  must  be  broken  into  pieces  small  enough  to  suit  the 
retort.  Nothing  is  so  effective  as  dynamite  for  breaking  up  a  stump 
for  this  purpose.  Charges  of  a  few  inches  of  dynamite  exploded 
simultaneously  in  several  auger  holes  bored  in  the  stump,  will  shatter 
it  into  exactly  the  size  required. 

When  logs  are  split  up  to  be  burned  quickly,  the  same  method 
is  used  as  when  splitting  stumps;  but  if  they  are  to  be  split  for  fence 
rails,  cord-wood,  charcoal,  or  other  purposes  where  comparatively 
even  and  regular  sections  are  required,  blasting  powder  may  be  used. 
This  explosive  is  so  much  slower  in  action  than  dynamite  that  a 
series  of  properly  gauged  and  properly  placed  charges  will  split  a 
log  along  the  grain,  just  as  evenly  as  if  a  number  of  wedges  were 
used.  This  method  of  splitting  logs  is  so  much  quicker,  cheaper  and 
easier  than  any  other,  that  those  who  have  once  become  proficient 
at  it,  never  give  it  up.  Auger  holes  are  bored  along  the  line  of  the 
grain,  about  one-quarter  to  one-half  of  the  way  through  the  log,  the 
depth  of  the  holes  and  the  distance  between  them  depending  on  the 
kind  of  wood,  the  grain  and  the  diameter  of  the  log.  A  few  ounces 
of  FF  blasting  powder  is  put  into  the  bottom  of  each  hole,  care 
being  first  taken  to  see  that  the  hole  is  dry,  then  wooden  plugs  are 

35 


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CLEARING         THE         LAND 

driven  firmly  into  the  tops  of  the  holes  to  tamp  or  confine  the 
charge.  In  some  kinds  of  wood  it  is  best  to  leave  a  considerable 
air  space  between  the  bottom  of  the  plug  and  the  powder.  The 
plugs  must  have  a  groove  in  the  side  large  enough  to  admit  the 
electric  squib  wires  or  fuse.  As  blasting  powder  is  exploded  by  a 
spark  or  flame  it  is  not  necessary  to  use  a  detonator  (blasting  cap  or 
electric  fuze)  when  blasting  with  it.  If  electric  squibs  and  a  blast- 
ing machine  are  used  for  exploding  the  charges,  they  can  all  be 
fired  simultaneously.  This  usually  is  the  best  and  cheapest  way, 
as  a  little  less  powder  is  required  than  when  the  charges  are  ex- 
ploded separately  with  fuze.  Electric  squibs  are  similar  in  appear- 
ance to  electric  fuzes,  except  that  they  have  a  paper  capsule  instead 
of  a  copper  cap.  They  do  not  explode  when  the  electric  current 
passes  through  them,  but  ignite  the  blasting  powder  by  a  flash. 
When  using  electric  squibs,  it  is  only  necessary  to  have  the  groove 
or  channel  in  the  sides  of  the  wooden  plugs  large  enough  for  the  two 
small  wires  to  run  through  it,  if  the  cap  of  the  electric  squib  is  put 
in  place  before  the  plug  is  driven  in.  When  driving  the  plug  care 
must  be  taken  that  the  wires  are  kept  free,  and  that  the  insulation 
on  them  is  not  abraded.  If  it  is  not  convenient  to  provide  wooden 
plugs  in  this  work,  damp  clay  tamping  may  be  used  on  top  of  a  wad 
of  newspaper.  A  log  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  four  or  five  feet 
long,  can  usually  be  split  in  two  with  one  two-ounce  charge  of  FF 
blasting  powder,  fired  as  described  above.  Longer  logs  require  two 
or  more  holes,  and  logs  of  greater  diameter  require  heavier  charges. 
The  holes  should  be  from  one  and  one-eighth  to  two  inches  in 
diameter. 

Logs  up  to  six  feet  in  length  can  be  split  at  once  into  a  number 
of  pieces,  by  exploding  a  single  charge  of  low-grade  dynamite 
in  a  hole  bored  about  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  straight  into  the 
center  of  one  end.  Two  ounces  is  about  the  right  charge  for  a 
log  two  feet  in  diameter. 


37 


BOULDER  BLASTING 


THE  BOULDER— BEFORE  THE  BLAST 


nPHERE  are  three  ways  in  which  boulders  can  be  blasted. 
■■'  These  are  known  as  "Mudcapping,"  "Snakeholing"  and 
"Blockholmg."  "Mudcapping"  and  "Snakehohng"  are  the 
easier  and  quicker  methods,  but  require  more  dynamite.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  shatter  large  round  boulders  of  hard  rock  by 
either  of  these  methods,  without  using  an  excessive  quantity  of  ex- 
plosives, which  makes  blockholing  necessary  with  boulders  of  this 
kind. 


Mudcapping  ("Doby  Shooting"  or  "Blistering") 

Boulders  may  frequently  be  broken  by  exploding  a  small 
charge  of  dynamite  on  their  surface.  The  charge  should  be  placed 
on  the  spot  which  would  be  struck  with  a  sledge  if  the  boulder  was 
to  be  broken  in  that  way.  The  dynamite  should  be  packed  in  a  solid 
mass  by  slitting  the  paper  cartridge  shells,  but  should  not  be  spread 
over  the  surface  of  the  boulder  any  more  than  absolutely  necessary. 
A  blasting  cap  crimped  on  to  fuse  should  be  placed  in  the  middle 
of  the  charge,  and  the  whole  covered  with  six  inches  of  damp  clay 
or  sand.  This  material  should  be  pressed  firmly  over  the  mass  of 
dynamite,  care  being  taken  not  to  cover  the  free  end  of  the  fuse. 

39 


BLASTING  A   BOULDER 


CLEARING         THE         LAND 

It  is  advisable  if  the  boulder  is  deeply  imbedded  in  the  ground,  to 
dig  away  or  loosen  some  of  the  earth  surrounding  it  before  blasting. 

If  the  boulder  is  cracked  or  seamy,  the  best  results  may  be 
secured  by  placing  the  charge  in  some  depression  and  covering  it 
with  a  quantity  of  clay  or  sand.  This  will  furnish  more  resistance 
and  make  available  a  greater  force  from  the  explosive. 

The  quantity  and  grade  of  explosives  required  naturally  de- 
pend on  the  size  and  shape  of  the  boulder.  The  "grain"  and  kind 
of  rock  are  also  important  points.  Forty  per  cent,  dynamite  is  the 
grade  recommended,  and  the  quantity  required  will  vary  from  one 
to  ten  pounds,  the  latter  quantity  being  necessary  only  when  the 
boulder  is  a  very  large  one.  The  dynamite  should  be  exploded 
with  a  No.  6  detonator. 

Snakeholing 

Proceed  as  in  stump  blasting,  taking  care  that  the  hole  in  the 
ground  be  made  under  a  flat  or  hollow  side  of  the  boulder  and 
not  under  a  bulging  side.  Make  a  hole  with  a  crowbar  or  a  dirt 
auger,  close  up  under  the  center  of  the  boulder  and  load  the 
dynamite  into  the  hole  in  the  same  manner  as  you  would  for  stump 
blasting.  Care  should  also  be  taken  when  the  charge  is  placed, 
to  leave  no  means  by  which  the  force  of  the  dynamite  may  escape. 
If  it  has  not  been  thoroughly  tamped,  or  if  it  is  too  near  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  and  not  in  the  proper  position  beneath  the  boulder, 
the  dynamite  may  blow  the  dirt  out  and  leave  the  boulder  un- 
touched. 

Dynamite  of  30  per  cent,  to  40  per  cent,  strength  should  be 
used  when  breaking  up  boulders  in  this  way.  Only  from  one-half 
to  two-thirds  the  quantity  of  dynamite  that  would  be  required  to 
mudcap  the  same  boulder,  is  needed  provided  the  boulder  has  a 
hollow  or  concave  side  underneath.  The  results  are  better  in  damp, 
heavy  soil  than  in  light  or  sandy  soil. 

Blockholing 

This  is  the  most  economical  method  of  using  dynamite  to 
break  up  boulders,  and  although  it  takes  some  time  and  labor  to 
drill  the  one  or  more  necessary  holes  in  the  boulder,  it  will  often 
be  found  the  most  satisfactory  in  the  long  run.     The  holes  in  large 

41 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

boulders  should  be  an  inch  or  more  in  diameter,  while  three-quarters 
or  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  will  answer  for  the  smaller  ones.  To 
properly  break  up  a  boulder  weighing  about  ten  tons,  a  hole  should 
be  drilled  in  it  from  ten  to  twenty  inches  deep,  as  the  shape  and  grain 
of  the  rock  may  demand,  and  large  enough  in  diameter  to  hold  a 
pound  or  more  of  dynamite  with  the  necessary  tamping.  Smaller 
boulders  require  holes  from  four  to  six  inches  in  depth,  which,  if 
necessary,  can  be  filled  full  of  dynamite,  and  no  tamping  used. 

30  per  cent,  dynamite  will  usually  give  best  results  in 
blockholing,  unless  the  boulders  are  very  large  and  hard,  when  40 
per  cent,  should  be  used. 


THE    BOULDER-AFTER   THE    BLAST 


42 


THE   SECOND   STAGE 


Getting  the  Farm  in  Shape 


DIGGING  DITCHES 

DRAINING  SWAMPS 

GRADING  ROADS 

EXCAVATING  FOR  BUILDING 
FOUNDATIONS  AND  CELLARS 

SINKING  WELLS 

DIGGING  HOLES  FOR  FENCE- 
POSTS 


GETTING  THE  FARM  IN  SHAPE 


\X7HEN  the  land  has  been  cleared  the  work  of  getting  the  farm 
"  "  into  shape  begins.  Ditches  must  be  dug  to  properly  drain 
the  fields — particularly  the  swampy  ones,  where  often  the 
best  soil  is  found.  Roads  must  be  constructed,  wells  sunk,  barns, 
houses  and  other  buildings  erected,  fences  built,  and  so  on.  Dyna- 
mite is  necessary  in  every  one  of  these  operations,  if  the  work  is  to 
be  done  expeditiously  and  economically.  The  information  to  be 
found  in  the  succeeding  pages,  as  well  as  that  already  given,  has  been 
secured  entirely  from  farmers  and  others  who  have  used  explosives 
for  the  various  purposes  described. 

DITCHING 

Ditches  for  draining,  and  trenches  for  pipe  lines  and  tiling, 
are  necessary  on  every  farm,  and  should  always  be  dug  with  ex- 
plosives. The  ditching  which  pays  best  is  that  which  drains  swampy 
lands.  There  are  about  seventy  million  acres  of  this  land  in  the 
United  States,  much  of  which  would  bear  magnificent  crops,  if 
drained.  The  cost  of  draining  by  the  usual  method  of  digging 
ditches  by  hand  or  machine,  has  been  almost  prohibitive,  with  the 
result  that  this  land  is  still  lying  idle.  Now  that  it  has  been  found 
that  dynamite  will  dig  ditches  through  any  swamp  where  a  man  can 
penetrate,  no  matter  how  thick  the  vegetation  covering  it  may  be, 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  large  majority  of  this  seventy  million  acres 
of  swamp  land  should  not  be  cultivated. 

When  a  ditch  is  blasted  there  is  no  outlay  for  expensive  equip- 
ment, because  the  only  machinery  necessary  is  an  iron  bar,  pointed 
at  one  end.  in  hard,  dry  ground,  a  sledge  or  maul  is  needed  to 
drive  the  bar  down  to  the  necessary  depth.  There  is  no  delay  and 
expense  getting  machinery  into  place  through  swamps  and  thickets. 
Not  even  a  team  is  needed  when  ditches  are  dug  with  dynamite, 
for  one  or  two  men  can  easily  carry  sufficient  dynamite  to  dig  a 
ditch  four  or  five  hundred  feet  long,  four  or  five  feet  wide,  and 
three  or  four  feet  deep. 

45 


GETTING   THE   FARM   IN   SHAPE 


When  ditches  are  dug  with  dynamite  the  material  taken  from 
the  ditch  is  practically  all  thrown  out  by  the  blast,  and  little  or  no 
shoveling  is  necessary.  This  material  is  not  heaped  up  along  the 
sides  of  the  ditch,  where  it  would  occupy  land  that  should  be  raising 
crops,  and  would  prevent  free  drainage  into  the  ditch,  but  is  spread 
evenly  over  the  ground  for  a  considerable  distance  on  each  side  of 
the  ditch. 

Ditches  can  be  dug  with  dynamite  at  any  time  on  a  couple 
of  hours'  notice,  as  dealers  who  handle  explosives  can  be  found  in 
almost  every  locality.  In  wet  weather,  especially  after  heavy  rain 
falls,  when  it  may  be  necessary  to  cut  ditches  and  channels  in  a 
hurry,  this  method  is  invaluable. 

It  is  just  as  easy  to  dig  a  curved  ditch  with  dynamite  as  it  is 
to  dig  a  straight  one,  because  the  center  of  the  ditch  follows  the 
line  of  holes  in  which  the  dynamite  is  loaded. 

Although  a  channel  or  ditch  dug  with  dynamite,  and 
particularly  one  cut  through  dry  or  sandy  ground,  is  not  so  even 
and  regular  at  first  as  one  dug  by  hand  or  machine,  it  will  square  up 
very  soon  after  water  fills  it,  and,  as  the  banks  have  a  good  slope, 
there  is  little  caving  afterward. 

Howr  it  is  Done 

Dynamite  digs  the  cleanest  and  most  regular  ditches  in  wet 
clay  or  gumbo.  In  this  kind  of  ground  it  is  not  necessary  to  put 
the  holes  so  close  together,  or  to  use  quite  so  much  dynamite  as  when 
the  clay  is  only  damp.  In  dry  clay,  sand  marl,  or  other  loose  ground, 
the  weaker  and  consequently  less  expensive  grades  of  dynamite  give 
best  results. 

If  the  soil  is  very  light,  it  may  occasionally  be  necesary  to  "trim 
up"  the  ditch  a  little  by  hand  after  the  blast,  but  even  then  it  is 
at  least  25  per  cent,  cheaper  to  dig  the  ditch  with  dynamite  than 
by  machine,  and  it  is  also  many  times  quicker. 

When  ditches  are  dug  in  wet  clay  it  is  best  to  explode  the 
dynamite  with  blasting  cap  and  waterproof  fuze.  If  the  holes  are 
spaced  the  proper  distance,  only  the  hole  in  the  middle  of  the 
row  requires  a  blasting  cap,  as  the  explosion  of  the  dynamite  in  this 
hole  explodes  that  in  the  next  holes  on  either  side,  and  so  on  almost 
instantaneously  from  hole  to  hole,  to  the  two  opposite  ends  of  the 

47 


GETTING   THE   FARM   IN   SHAPE 

row.  This  plan  of  exploding  the  dynamite  in  one  hole  by  that  in 
the  next  hole,  instead  of  putting  a  detonator  in  each  hole,  works 
best  in  wet  ground,  and  when  the  ground  and  water  are  not  cold. 
The  temperature  of  the  air,  water  and  ground  is  an  important  point. 
If  it  is  below  50  degrees  P.,  the  dynamite  may  become  so  insensitive 
that  the  charge  in  one  hole  will  not  explode  the  next  one.  It  is, 
therefore,  recommended  that  whenever  possible,  this  work  be  done 
when  the  ground  is  wet  and  the  weather  warm. 

When  all  conditions  are  favorable  the  holes  can  be  spaced  two 
feet  apart,  put  down  three  feet  and  loaded  with  one  cartridge, 
11/4x8  inches  of  50  per  cent,  or  60  per  cent,  dynamite,  for  a  ditch 
four  feet  deep  and  six  feet  wide  at  the  top.  Three  men  can  dig  a 
thousand  feet  of  this  ditch  in  three  days,  with  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  of  dynamite,  and  at  about  one-third  of  the  cost  of  any 
other  method.  Pifty,  sixty,  or  even  a  greater  number  of  holes,  can 
be  blasted  simultaneously  with  a  blasting  cap  in  the  middle  hole 
only.  Sometimes  as  much  as  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  ditch  is  blasted 
in  this  way  at  once,  but  unless  a  number  of  men  are  loading  the 
holes  it  is  not  advisable  to  blast  so  much  at  one  time,  because  the 
dynamite  in  the  holes  first  loaded  will  be  under  water  so  long,  before 
the  last  holes  are  loaded,  that  it  may  deteriorate.  The  middle  hole 
should  be  loaded  heavier  than  the  others — say,  with  three  cartridges 
instead  of  one  cartridge,  one  of  them  being  the  "primer";  that  is, 
the  cartridge  in  which  the  blasting  cap  crimped  to  the  fuze  has  been 
placed.  It  is  also  a  good  plan  to  load  the  next  hole  on  either  side  of 
the  middle  one  with  three  cartridges  instead  of  one.  When  water 
covers  the  holes,  or  almost  fills  them,  it  acts  as  a  tamping,  and  no 
other  tamping  is  necessary.  The  middle  hole  should  be  loaded  last, 
so  as  not  to  keep  the  blasting  cap  and  fuse  under  water  longer  than 
absolutely  necessary.  The  blasting  cap  SHOULD  BE  CAREFULLY 
CRIMPED  TO  THE  FUSE  WITH  A  CAP  CRIMPER,  and  NOT  with  a 
knife  or  the  teeth.  After  the  blasting  cap  has  been  crimped  to  the 
fuse,  thick  grease  or  tallow  {not  oil)  should  be  spread  over  the 
fuze  where  it  enters  the  blasting  cap.  You  cannot  be  sure  that 
everything  will  work  satisfactorily,  unless  you  use  a  high-grade  of 
waterproof  fuze  and  a  No.  6,  or  stronger,  blasting  cap.  Blasting 
caps  are  weakened  by  dampness,  so  it  is  always  better  to  use  a  grade 
stronger  than  one  which  would  only  just  explode  the  dynamite. 

49 


GETTING   THE   FARM   IN   SHAPE 

Always  cut  the  end  of  the  fuse  squarely  across,  and  always 
put  the  fresh  cut  end  in  the  blasting  cap. 

The  iron  or  steel  bars  for  punching  the  holes  in  the  ground 
should  be  a  little  larger  in  diameter  than  the  dynamite  cartridges, 
sharpened  to  a  blunt  point  on  one  end  and  at  least  two  feet  longer 
than  the  depth  of  the  ditch.  For  making  holes  in  dry  ground, 
where  the  bar  is  driven  down  with  sledges  or  mauls,  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  have  it  only  long  enough  to  extend  about  four  inches  above 
the  surface  when  the  hole  is  deep  enough.  This  short  bar  should 
have  a  ring  or  collar  welded  on  close  to  the  top,  so  that  it  can  be 
easily  loosened  with  a  crowbar  if  it  becomes  fast.  The  bars  should 
have  a  blunt  point  and  not  a  long,  tapering  one,  because  the  dyna- 
mite cartridge  cannot  be  easily  forced  to  the  bottom  of  a  hole  if  made 
by  the  latter. 


BAR    FOR    PUNCHING   THE    HOLES 

The  labor  of  punching  the  holes  may  be  reduced  by  spacing 
them  farther  apart,  but  when  this  is  done  it  is  necessary  to  increase 
each  charge  of  dynamite.  If  under  the  conditions  described  above 
the  holes  were  spaced  three  feet  instead  of  two  feet  apart,  the 
charge  of  dynamite  in  each  one  should  be  increased  to  one  and  a 
half  1 1/^  X  8-inch  cartridges. 

Ditches  up  to  sixteen  feet  wide  can  be  dug  with  dynamite,  but 
for  this  width  three  rows  of  holes  placed  alternately,  as  shown  below, 
are  necessary. 

o  o  o  o  o  o  o 

o  o  o  o  o  o 

o  o  o  o  o  o  o 

The  rows  should  be  about  the  same  distance  apart  as  the 
distance  between  the  holes  in  the  row. 

When  deeper  ditches  are  wanted,  the  holes  must  be  put  down 
deeper,  and  larger  charges  of  explosives  be  used. 

A  ditch,  two  or  two  and  one-half  feet  deep,  and  five  feet  wide, 
can  be  blasted  through  wet  clay  or  gumbo  at  a  cost  of  1  Y^  cents, 
or  less,  per  lineal  foot  of  ditch. 

51 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

One  Missouri  farmer  recently  stated  that  a  ditch  which  he 
had  just  dug  through  swampy  land  with  dynamite  for  $  1 00,  would 
have  cost  $400  or  $500  if  it  had  been  dug  in  any  other  way. 

When  the  clay  or  gumbo  is  only  moderately  wet  or  damp,  it 
is  necessary  to  locate  the  holes  closer  together,  if  a  blasting  cap  is 
used  in  only  one  of  them,  as  the  shock  from  exploding  dynamite  will 
not  carry  as  far  through  the  dryer  ground,  as  it  will  through  wet 
ground  or  .water;  and  it  will  not  carry  as  far  through  light  or  loose 
earth,  as  through  that  which  is  close  and  heavy.  The  ^  distance 
between  the  holes  in  clay,  which  is  only  damp,  should  not  be 
greater  than  a  foot  and  a  half;  and  in  wet  sand,  from  a  foot  to  a 
foot  and  a  half. 

When  the  ditch  is  to  be  dug  through  dry  ground,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  a  detonator  (blasting  cap  and  fuse  or  electric  fuze), 
in  each  hole,  and  to  tamp  with  damp  earth  above  the  explosives  to 
the  top  of  the  hole.  The  best  plan  is  to  fire  a  number  of  holes  at 
one  time  by  electricity,  so  that  each  charge  can  help  the  other. 

Although  it  takes  a  little  longer  to  dig  ditches  with  dynamite 
in  dry  ground  than  it  does  in  wet  ground,  because  each  hole  must 
be  primed,  it  is  but  little,  if  any,  more  expensive,  as  the  holes  can  be 
spaced  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  feet  apart,  and  a  lower  grade  of 
d5Tiamite  can  be  used.  The  proper  explosive  for  blasting  dry 
ground  in  this  way  is  dynamite  of  25  per  cent,  to  40  per  cent, 
strength,  of  which  about  two  1 Y4  x  8-inch  cartridges  should  be 
used  in  each  hole. 

In  blasting  ditches,  as  in  all  other  blasting,  the  grade  and 
quantity  of  explosives  to  use,  and  the  spacing  and  depth  of  bore 
holes,  are  governed  by  the  kind  of  ground  in  which  the  work  is  to 
be  done,  whether  it  is  wet  or  dry,  and  by  the  size  of  the  ditch  to 
be  dug. 

If  lateral  ridges  are  left  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  the  holes 
should  be  spaced  a  little  closer  in  the  next  attempt.  Sometimes  the 
material  blasted  out  is  thrown  farther  away  from  the  ditch  if  the 
holes  are  put  down  at  an  angle  of  about  45  degrees  instead  of 
vertically. 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  difference  between  the  way  an  explo- 
sive acts  in  close,  wet  ground,  which  offers  considerable  resistance, 
and  the  way  it  acts  in  open  dry  ground,  offering  very  little  resistance. 
Consequently  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  get  the  best  work  out  of 

52 


GETTING   THE   FARM   IN   SHAPE 

explosives,  that  is,  to  make  them  do  the  most  work  possible  for  the 
money  they  cost,  to  use  one  kind  in  close,  wet  ground,  and  another 
kind  in  open,  dry  ground.  It  is  also  cheapest  to  space  the  holes 
and  to  fire  the  explosives  differently  according  to  the  kind  of  ground. 

As  ground  in  which  ditches  are  to  be  dug  is  not  always  either 
wet  clay  or  dry  loam,  but  often  ranges  between  the  two,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  modify  the  two  methods  described  above  in  the  spac- 
ing of  bore  holes  and  size  of  charges. 

When  shale  or  rock  is  encountered  in  digging  ditches,  holes 
must  be  drilled  and  fired  as  in  any  other  kind  of  rock  blasting.  The 
depth  and  spacing  of  these  holes,  and  the  kind  and  quantity  of 
explosives  which  will  give  best  results,  depend  altogether  on  the 
nature  of  the  rock. 

DRAINING  SWAMPS 

In  comparatively  flat,  open  country  underlaid  by  a  clay  sub- 
soil, swamps,  often  several  acres  in  extent,  occupy  the  lower  areas. 
These  swamps  are  natural  reservoirs,  generally  formed  by  drainage 
filling  up  the  depressions  until  the  water  is  high  enough  to  flow  out 
over  the  lowest  barrier.  They  are  not  fed  by  springs,  but  by  the 
natural  drainage.  To  drain  these  swamps  by  means  of  ditches 
would  sometimes  require  several  miles  of  ditching,  which  in  many 
cases  is  impracticable.  Yet  such  swamps  often  cover  the  very 
best  kind  of  crop-bearing  ground,  and  accordingly  any  practical 
method  by  which  they  can  be  disposed  of,  is  a  matter  of  great  inter- 
est to  many  farmers.  That  many  of  them  can  be  completely  drained 
without  ditching,  and  at  very  little  expense,  has  been  clearly  demon- 
strated. This  is  done  by  boring  holes  down  through  the  impervious 
ground  in  the  bottom  of  the  swamps,  to  the  sand,  gravel  or  other 
open  material  below,  and  exploding  relatively  heavy  charges  of  40 
per  cent,  semi-gelatin  in  the  holes.  The  number  of  holes  required 
depends  on  the  size  of  the  swamps  and  the  thickness  of  the  subsoil. 
Sometimes  a  comparatively  large  swamp  can  be  permanently  dried 
up  by  means  of  three  or  four  well-blasted  holes  in  the  lowest  part  of 
the  bottom.  Again  a  row  of  holes,  spaced  thirty  or  forty  feet 
apart,  across  the  lowest  part  of  the  swamp  may  be  necessary.  For 
lasting  results,  the  holes  must  sometimes  be  drilled  as  deep  as  thirty 
feet,    although    ten-foot    holes    are    often    sufficient.     A    two-inch 

53 


HANDBOOK      OF      EXPLOSIVES 


wood  or  dirt  auger  is  generally  used.  This  auger  is  welded  to  a 
piece  of  gas-pipe  six  or  eight  feet  long.  The  top  of  this  is  threaded 
and  a  tee  attached  so  that  a  wood  or  pipe  handle  can  be  used  to 
turn  the  auger.  When  the  hole  is  bored  down  until  the  handle 
of  the  auger  approaches  the  surface  of  the  water,  or  as  low  as  it 
can  be  conveniently  operated  from  the  raft  or  boat,  the  tee  is  un- 
screwed, another  section  of  pipe  attached,  and  the  tee  is  screwed 
on  to  the  top  of  this  section.  This  process  is  repeated  until  the  hole 
has  reached  the  required  depth.  Then  the  dynamite  is  loaded.  To 
do  this  properly  a  section  of  two-inch  gas-pipe  should  be  pushed 
into  the  hole  for  six  or  eight  inches.  This  pipe  should  be  long  enough 
to  extend  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  Through  this  the  1 1/4  x  8- 
inch  cartridges  should  be  pushed,  one  or  two  at  a  time,  with  a 
wooden  stick,  to  the  bottom  of  the  hole,  where  they  will  remain 
when  the  stick  is  withdrawn,  if  given  a  good  firm  push.  The  last 
cartridge  should  be  primed  with  a  No.  6  waterproof  electric  fuze, 
for  good  results  cannot  be  expected  if  fuze  and  blasting  caps  are 
used  in  this  work.  The  electric  fuze  must  have  wires  long  enough 
to  reach  well  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  No  tamping  is  re- 
quired, as  the  water  above  the  explosive  serves  the  purpose.  After 
the  primer  cartridge  is  in  position,  draw  out  the  gas-pipe  carefully, 
so  as  not  to  pull  the  electric  fuze  out  of  the  cartridge.  The  electric 
fuze  wires  should  then  be  connected  to  well-insulated  leading  wire 
(all  connections  being  carefully  waterproofed),  and  the  leading 
wire  should  be  carefully  paid  out,  while  the  raft  or  boat  is  moved 
fifty  to  one  hundred  yards  away.  The  other  ends  of  the  leading 
wire  should  then  be  attached  to  the  blasting  machine,  the  operation 
of  which  will  explode  the  charge  in  the  bottom  of  the  hole.  The 
approximate  charge  for  a  hole  ten  feet  deep  is  seven  cartridges, 
for  a  hole  fifteen  feet  deep,  twelve  cartridges,  and  for  a  hole  thirty 
feet  deep,  twenty-five  cartridges,  1 1/^  x  8  inches,  of  40  per  cent, 
semi-gelatin. 

A  few  years  ago  a  Kansas  farmer,  who  had  owned  a  farm 
for  twelve  years  with  a  forty-acre  swamp  on  it,  blasted  a  row  of 
holes  spaced  about  thirty-five  feet  apart,  across  the  lowest  part  where 
the  water  was  three  feet  deep.  The  swamp  dried  up  immediately 
and  the  first  year  sixteen  hundred  bushels  of  oats  were  raised  on 
the  ground  it  had  occupied.  Since  then  four  crops  of  alfalfa  per 
year  have  been  raised  on  this  ground. 

54 


GETTING   THE   FARM   IN   SHAPE 


ROAD  BUILDING 

No  farm  can  be  properly  conducted  without  good,  hard  roads, 
and  the  only  way  to  have  good  roads  about  the  farm  is  to  lay  them 
out  correctly  in  the  first  place,  and  then  grade  and  ditch  them 
properly.  This  grading  and  ditching  always  takes  more  or  less 
digging,  but  by  using  dynamite  to  loosen  up  the  hard  ground  or 
shale,  and  to  blast  out  the  rock,  roads  can  be  built  quickly  and  at 
comparatively  little  expense. 

To  blast  cuts  not  more  than  five  feet  deep  through  hard  earth 
or  shale,  drive  a  bar  down  to  within  six  inches  or  a  foot  of  "  grade," 
and  in  the  hole  thus  made  explode  one  of  two  cartridges  of  30 
per  cent,  dynamite.  Be  sure  to  first  tamp  the  charge  properly. 
Holes  should  be  spaced  five  to  eight  feet  apart.  In  this  way  the 
material  to  be  removed  is  not  only  broken  up  so  that  it  can  be 
shoveled  very  easily,  but  a  good  portion  of  it  is  spread  over  the 
surrounding  land  and  does  not  have  to  be  handled. 

Roads  can  be  ditched  with  but  little  shoveling,  by  exploding 
about  half  a  cartridge  of  30  per  cent.  d5niamite  in  holes  a  foot 
deep  and  two  to  three  feet  apart  along  the  line  of  the  ditch. 

If  it  is  necessary  to  cut  through  rock,  the  holes  should  be 
drilled  closer  together  and  heavier  charges  used.  When  crushing 
stone  for  country  roads  and  turnpike,  it  will  be  found  much  cheaper 
to  locate  the  crusher  at  a  ledge,  and  blast  out  the  rock,  than  to 
keep  teams  traveling  over  the  whole  countryside,  gathering  up 
boulders  and  hauling  them  to  the  crusher. 

DIGGING  CELLARS  AND  FOUNDATION  TRENCHES 

No  farmer  wants  to  put  an  expensive  barn  or  house  on  a  poor 
foundation,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  greater  benefit  to  a 
farm  than  a  good  cellar.  The  proper  location  for  a  building  is  on  a 
knoll,  and  the  rock  often  comes  nearer  to  the  surface  on  the  knolls 
than  it  does  in  the  hollows.  This  makes  both  good  foundations  and 
good  cellars  possible  with  the  help  of  dynamite.  With  sharp  drills,  a 
couple  of  sledges,  40  per  cent,  dynamite,  fuse  and  No.  6  blasting 
caps,  a  cellar  can  be  excavated,  and  the  rock  squared  up  for  founda- 
tion piers  or  walls,  in  a  short  time  and  at  little  expense.  In  fact,  it 
takes  little,  if  any,  more  blasting  to  put  a  house  or  barn  on  rock  than 
it  does  to  quarry  elsewhere  the  necessary  stone  for  cellar  walls  and 

55 


GETTING   THE   FARM   IN   SHAPE 


foundations.  The  rock  blasted  out  can  also  be  used  for  the  walls 
and  piers. 

If  it  is  not  possible  to  locate  the  house  and  barns  on  rock,  then 
the  foundation  trenches  and  cellar  in  the  clay,  gravel  or  shale  can 
be  dug  much  more  quickly  and  easily  if  the  material  is  loosened  up 
with  an  occasional  charge  of  30  per  cent,  dynamite. 

The  stone  for  cement  construction  of  all  kinds  can  be  easily 
blasted  out  in  the  proper  size  for  the  crusher  with  40  per  cent, 
dynamite. 

WELL  SINKING 

Wells  are  frequently  sunk  through  rock  or  ground  which  can- 
not be  dug  to  advantage  without  the  aid  of  explosives.  In  well 
sinking,  when  rock  is  reached  and  the  earth  or  sand  above  is  prop- 
erly shored,  a  circle  of  four  or  five  holes  should  be  drilled  about 
half-way  between  the  center  and  the  sides  of  the  well,  pointing  at 
an  angle,  that  will  bring  them  close  together  near  the  center  when 
they  are  three  or  four  feet  deep.  These  holes  should  be  loaded 
about  half-full  of  40  per  cent,  gelatin  dynamite,  with  damp  clay 
tamping  packed  firmly  above  this  to  the  top  of  the  hole,  and  then 
fired  simultaneously  from  the  surface  by  electricity.  The  result  of 
this  shot  will  be  to  blow  out  an  inverted  cone  or  funnel  in  the  center, 
and  the  bottom  can  then  be  squared  up  with  another  circle  of  holes 
drilled  vertically  as  close  to  the  walls  as  possible.  If  the  well  is  large 
it  may  be  necessary  to  drill  a  circle  of  holes  between  the  inner  and 
outer  circle.  The  above  process  should  be  repeated  until  the  well 
has  passed  through  the  rock  or  has  been  sunk  to  the  necessary  depth. 
Nothing  weaker  than  No.  6  electric  fuzes  should  be  used  to  explode 
the  gelatin  dynamite. 

DIGGING  HOLES  FOR  POLES  AND  POSTS 

Much  time  and  labor  can  be  saved  by  using  dynamite  as  an 
assistant  in  digging  holes  for  poles  and  posts.  Only  enough  explo- 
sive should  be  used  to  make  the  digging  easy,  as  larger  charges 
loosen  up  the  ground  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  difficult  to  make 
the  poles  or  posts  as  firm  as  they  should  be.  This  applies  particu- 
larly to  large  poles. 

57 


GETTING   THE   FARM   IN   SHAPE 

The  best  way  to  do  this  blasting  is  to  drive  a  crowbar  down 
into  the  ground  within  six  inches  of  the  desired  depth  of  the  hole. 
In  the  bottom  of  the  hole  made  by  the  crowbar,  explode  from  one- 
quarter  of  a  cartridge  to  one  cartridge  of  40  per  cent,  dynamite.  Do 
not  tamp,  as  this  would  cause  the  explosive  to  loosen  the  ground  too 
much. 


59 


r  ■■ 

\l] 

L- 

THE  THIRD  STAGE 


PREPARING  THE  LAND 
FOR  CROPS 


PLOWING  WITH  DYNAMITE 
DYNAMITE  IN  THE  ORCHARD 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  FOR  CROPS 


PLOWING  WITH  DYNAMITE 

PLOWS  have  been  used  for  many  centuries  to  break  up   the 
surface  of  the  earth,  so  that  seeds  could  be  easily  planted  and 
grow  better ;  but  from  the  forked  stick  of  the  savage  to  the  great 
gang  plow  of  the  modern  farmer,  plows  have  rarely  broken  up  the 
ground  satisfactorily  to  a  depth  greater  than  eight  or  ten  inches. 

In  rich,  open  soil  that  is  properly  fertilized,  plowing  will  break 
up  the  ground  sufficiently  for  many  years,  but  eventually  a  hard 
stratum,  sometimes  called  "  plow  hardpan  "  or  "  plow  sole,"  forms 
just  below  the  depth  to  which  the  plow  reaches.  This  "  plow 
sole  "  must  be  broken  up,  or  the  land  will  begin  to  fail.  Even  when 
"  plow  sole  "  does  not  exist,  land  that  has  been  bearing  crops  for 
many  years  is  wonderfully  improved,  if  the  lower  soil  is  broken  up 
and  aerated  once  in  every  six  or  eight  years. 

Land  that  has  only  a  thin  surface  soil  underlaid  by  an  imper- 
vious or  partly  impervious  subsoil,  sometimes  known  as  "  hardpan, 
will  not  produce  crops  at  all,  or  else  only  produce  them  in  a  very 
limited  degree,  or  for  a  short  time  only,  unless  the  subsoil  be  thor- 
oughly broken  up.  Where  the  fertile  surface  soil  is  fairly  deep, 
attempts  have  been  made  to  farm  this  land  by  means  of  drainage 
and  irrigation,  the  surplus  water  of  the  wet  season  being  drained 
off,  and  the  lack  of  water  in  the  dry  season  being  overcome  by  irri- 
gation. This  system  is  expensive,  and  at  best  gives  only  temporary 
relief,  for  in  the  end  it  tends  to  increase  the  thickness  of  the  hardpan, 
and  in  some  localities  may  be  responsible  for  alkali  soil.  The  heavy 
rains  of  the  wet  season  often  cannot  penetrate  this  subsoil,  so  the 
water  rushes  to  the  low  ground,  carrying  much  of  the  valuable  sur- 
face soil  with  it.  There,  still  unable  to  sink  through  the  hardpan, 
it  prevents  plowing  until  the  water  evaporates  or  causes  the  seed  to 
rot  if  it  is  already  in  the  ground. 

63 


SUBSOIL   BLASTING-THE    RESULT— CORN    RAISED  ON   THE    BLASTED  GROUND 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  FOR  CROPS 

In  places  where  irrigating  is  carried  on  extensively,  the  ground 
sometimes  becomes  so  saturated  that  the  water  level  rises  close  to 
the  surface.  This  makes  the  land  practically  worthless  for  vegeta- 
tion of  any  kind  other  than  pasturage.  If  alkali  exists  in  the  soil, 
or  is  deposited  by  irrigation,  no  crops  can  be  raised  when  the  ground 
water  reaches  the  level  of  the  plants'  roots. 

In  some  parts  of  the  country,  ridges  or  "  dikes  "  are  run  at  regu- 
lar intervals  over  all  of  the  higher  ground,  to  keep  the  thin  surface 
soil  from  being  washed  away.  Considerable  time  and  labor  is  re- 
quired to  make  these  dikes,  as  well  as  to  keep  them  in  shape,  and 
they  take  up  ground  that  should  be  bearing  crops.  On  land  of  this 
kind,  drainage,  irrigation,  dikes,  late  plowing  and  rotting  seed  could 
all  be  done  away  with  if  the  subsoil  or  hardpan  were  properly 
broken  up. 

There  is  only  one  practical  way  to  upturn  and  aerate  these 
lower  soils,  or  to  shatter  hardpan,  and  that  is  by  blasting. 

Subsoil  and  hardpan  can  be  plowed  just  as  effectively  with 
explosives  as  surface  soil  can  be  with  a  plow,  and  just  as  cheaply, 
too,  for  it  is  only  necessary  to  do  this  subsoil  plowing  once  in  a 
number  of  years. 

Blasting  subsoil  has  been  practiced  for  some  years  by  a  few 
progressive  farmers  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  These  men 
have  had  wonderful  results  in  the  way  of  increased  crops  on  land 
already  under  cultivation,  and  in  transforming  into  excellent  grow- 
ing land  that  which  would  have  been  worthless  without  dynamite. 

It  is  only  lately,  however,  that  the  benefits  from  plowing  with 
dynamite  have  become  generally  recognized.  The  Department  of 
Agriculture,  the  various  agricultural  colleges,  and  men  prominently 
identified  with  farming  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  are  all  now 
making  a  careful  study  of  this  question  in  order  to  determine  the 
strength,  quantity  and  kind  of  explosives,  the  most  effective  way  of 
using  them,  and  the  depth  and  spacing  of  the  holes,  for  best  results. 
Farmers  everywhere  are  experimenting  on  their  own  account.  Many 
are  already  claiming  that  subsoil  plowing  with  explosives  will  be  a 
common  custom  in  a  few  years,  and  will  represent  millions  of  dollars 
in  increased  crops  from  lands  already  under  cultivation,  and  more 
millions  from  land  now  producing  nothing  but  weeds  and  considered 
entirely  worthless.     Along  with  this  increase  in  land  production, 

G5 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  FOR  CROPS 

will  be  a  reduction  in  the  expense  of  draining  and  irrigating;  be- 
cause, when  hard  subsoils  are  properly  shattered  with  explosives, 
the  surplus  water  falling  in  rainy  seasons  sinks  down  to  the  lower 
soils,  and  does  not  need  to  be  drained  off.  Neither  is  it  necessary 
in  dry  seasons  to  provide  water  by  means  of  irrigating  to  keep  the 
crops  from  drying  up,  because  the  water  which  has  settled  deep  in 
the  ground  during  the  heavy  rains  is  drawn  up  in  the  dry  season 
by  the  plant  roots  as  they  need  it. 

Forty-nine  per  cent.,  representing  about  two  and  one-half  mil- 
lion bales,  of  the  damage  done  to  the  1909  cotton  crops  was  due 
to  either  excessive  or  insufficient  moisture.  This  loss  could  have 
been  largely  prevented  by  blasting  the  subsoil  so  that  it  could  absorb 
the  surplus  water  in  wet  weather  and  retain  it  for  the  dry  weather, 
when  the  plants  need  it. 

In  some  places  the  subsoil  is  so  close  to  the  surface,  and  so  hard, 
that  the  plant  roots  grow  down  to  it,  but  are  unable  to  penetrate 
it.  Ground  of  this  nature  will  not  produce  crops  amounting  to  any- 
thing until  the  subsoil  has  been  blasted,  no  matter  how  much  it  is 
drained  and  irrigated.  After  being  blasted,  however,  it  often  be- 
comes wonderfully  productive. 

Different  methods  of  loading  and  spacing  the  holes  are  prac- 
ticed in  different  places,  the  usual  distance  apart  in  the  South  being 
4  to  8  feet,  with  a  charge  of  about  one-fourth  of  a  1 1/4  x  8-inch 
cartridge  of  30  per  cent,  or  40  per  cent,  dynamite  in  each  hole. 
In  Kansas  and  other  Western  States,  holes  are  spaced  from  15  to 
30  feet  apart  and  loaded  with  a  charge  of  from  one  to  one  and  a 
half  1  '/4  X  8-inch  cartridges  of  1 5  per  cent,  or  25  per  cent,  dynamite, 
in  each  hole.  The  proper  place  to  locate  the  charge  so  that  it  will 
shatter  a  maximum  area  of  subsoil,  is  two  to  three  feet  below  the 
surface,  if  the  hardpan  is  thin,  and  the  holes  are  placed  four  to  eight 
feet  apart.  In  thick  hardpan,  with  the  holes  15  to  30  feet  apart, 
the  charge  should  be  located  about  six  inches  above  the  bottom  of 
the  hardpan. 

In  California,  hardpan  has  been  blasted  very  effectively  and 
cheaply  with  5  per  cent,  low  powder.  A  slow-acting  dynamite 
does  better  work  than  a  quick  one,  because  its  effect  is  more  spread- 
ing. The  difference  in  the  results  of  the  use  of  slow  explosives  and 
of  quick  ones  on  hardpan  is  illustrated  on  pages  66,  68  and  70. 

67 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  FOR  CROPS 

The  exact  size  of  the  charge,  the  proper  spacing  of  the  holes, 
and  their  depth,  depend  largely  on  the  kind  of  subsoil  to  be  broken, 
its  thickness  and  distance  below  the  surface. 

When  the  bore  holes  are  15  feet  or  more  apart,  it  is  best  to 
explode  a  number  of  charges  simultaneously  by  means  of  electricity, 
but  when  the  bore  holes  are  closer  it  answers  the  purpose  about  as 
well  to  explode  the  charges  with  fuse  and  blasting  caps. 

Some  years  ago  F.  G.  Moughon,  of  Walton  County,  Georgia, 
blasted  a  piece  of  land  with  charges  of  about  one-third  of  a  1  '/4  x  8- 
inch  cartridge  of  dynamite  in  bore  holes,  two  and  a  half  to  three 
feet  deep,  spaced  eight  and  ten  feet  apart.  This  ground  has  pro- 
duced since  then  phenomenal  crops  of  watermelons,  averaging  50 
to  60  pounds  each.  J.  H.  Caldwell,  of  Spartanburg,  S.  C,  ad- 
vocates holes  two  feet  deep  spaced  four  feet  apart.  He  explodes  in 
each  of  these  about  one-fourth  of  a  V/4  x  8-inch  cartridge  of  30 
per  cent,  dynamite.  These  holes  are  not  thoroughly  tamped,  but 
when  they  are  loaded  enough  loose  dirt  is  pushed  into  each  one  to 
close  up  the  opening  and  hold  the  fuse  upright.  Although  this 
lack  of  tamping  undoubtedly  results  in  wasting  some  of  the  force 
of  the  dynamite,  Mr.  Caldwell  believes  that  it  is  cheaper  in  the  end, 
because  of  the  saving  of  time  in  loading  the  holes.  When  the  ground 
was  not  blasted,  the  corn  had  to  be  planted  18  inches  apart  in  the 
row,  with  rows  4  feet  apart.  The  blasted  ground  was  able  to  nour- 
ish stalks  six  inches  apart,  with  the  rows  spaced  as  before.  The  corn 
on  the  blasted  ground  grew  almost  one-half  taller  than  that  on  the 
unblasted  ground  and  produced  a  crop  33  per  cent,  greater.  This 
corn  was  weighed  by  a  committee  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
of  Spartanburg,  S.  C,  and  report  made  to  Col.  E.  J.  Watson, 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  of  Columbia,  S.  C. 
The  committee  also  stated  that  the  blasted  ground  produced  fuller 
ears  and  firmer  grains. 

It  is  impossible,  in  the  limited  space  of  this  handbook,  to  give 
details  concerning  the  results  of  the  subsoil  blasting  done  by  many 
of  those  who  have  profited  greatly  by  it,  but  J.  T.  Garrett,  of 
Laurens,  N.  C,  who  greatly  improved  his  corn  and  watermelon 
yield,  and  M.  T.  Williams,  of  Medicine  Lodge,  Kan.,  who  in- 
creased the  value  of  his  land  almost  tenfold  for  alfalfa,  must  be  men- 
tioned. 

69 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  FOR  CROPS 

The  entire  cost,  including  labor  and  explosives,  of  blasting  an 
acre  of  ground  with  holes  3  feet  deep  and  15  feet  apart,  using  a 
half-cartridge  P/^  x  8  inches  in  each  hole  amounts  to  about  $  1 8. 
The  same  charge  in  holes  spaced  20  feet  apart  brings  the  cost  per 
acre  down  to  about  $11.  If  charges  of  one  cartridge  be  used  in 
holes  20  feet  apart,  the  entire  cost  will  be  about  $  1 5  per  acre. 

In  many  parts  of  California  and  some  of  the  other  Western 
States  true  hardpan  exists.  The  only  way  in  which  land  underlaid 
by  this  hardpan  can  be  made  worth  anything,  is  to  break  up  the 
hardpan  with  explosives.  Then  fruit  trees  will  grow  and  bear  just 
as  well  as  anywhere  else. 

Tools  Used  When  Blasting  Subsoil 

In  the  South  the  holes  in  which  the  dynamite  is  exploded  are 
made  by  driving  into  the  ground  with  sledges  a  steel  bar,  two  and 
a  half  to  three  feet  long,  and  a  little  larger  in  diameter  than  the  dyna- 
mite cartridges.  This  bar  has  either  a  flange  or  a  lug  near  the  top, 
so  that  after  it  has  been  driven  down  it  can  be  loosened  with  a 
crowbar.  The  bar  should  have  a  short  point,  for  a  long,  tapered 
point  would  make  a  hole  so  small  at  the  bottom  that  the  dynamite 
cartridge  would  lodge  part  way  down.  An  illustration  of  this  bar 
will  be  found  on  page  5 1 . 

In  Kansas  the  holes  are  usually  bored  with  a  2-inch  dirt  or 
wood  auger  having  a  long  shank,  as  the  bottom  of  the  hardpan 
there  is  often  several  feet  below  the  surface.  A  crowbar  to  drive 
stones  out  of  the  course  of  the  auger  is  also  useful. 

If  you  have  not  tried  blasting  subsoil,  or  "  plowing  with  dyna- 
mite," we  suggest  that  you  lay  off  an  acre,  or  else  a  plot  100  feet 
by  200  feet  in  one  of  your  fields,  and  blast  it  as  described  above. 
Plant  the  whole  field  and  note  how  much  better  and  heavier  the 
crop  is  on  the  blasted  ground.  An  experiment  of  this  kind  will  cost 
but  little,  and  should  be  the  means  of  greatly  increasing  your  income 
in  the  future. 

DYNAMITE  IN  THE  ORCHARD 

Dynamite  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  aid  to  the  successful  grow- 
ing of  fruit  trees.  Those  who  have  tried  it  are  firmly  convinced  that 
no  method  of  excavating  the  hole  for  the  roots  of  the  young  tree, 
whatever  may  be  the  soil  conditions,  is  so  economical,  quick  or  pro- 
ductive of  as  desirable  after-results,  as  blasting  with  dynamite. 

71 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  FOR  CROPS 

Dynamite  should  be  used  when  planting  trees,  because  one 
cartridge  of  30  per  cent,  dynamite  will  excavate  instantly  the  hole 
in  which  to  plant  the  tree,  and  because  the  explosion  of  the  dynamite 
loosens  up  the  soil  for  many  yards  around,  giving  the  tree  roots  a 
better  opportunity  to  spread  out  than  when  the  hole  is  dug  by  hand. 
The  explosion  also  destroys  all  insects  and  grubs  in  the  ground 
nearby.  Every  year  or  so  during  the  life  of  the  trees,  small  charges 
of  30  per  cent,  dynamite  should  be  exploded  midway  between  them, 
and  some  four  or  five  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  This 
tends  to  keep  the  soil  open  so  that  it  will  hold  moisture  and  gives 
the  tree  roots  every  chance  to  spread,  besides  keeping  the  ground 
free  from  grubs. 

When  older  trees  begin  to  fail,  it  is  sometimes  of  much  benefit 
to  detonate  a  charge  of  explosives  directly  under  them.  To  do  this 
a  hole  should  be  started  seven  or  eight  feet  away  from  the  tree 
and  driven  downward  and  toward  the  tree  on  a  dip  of  about  forty- 
five  degrees.  When  the  hole  is  in  twelve  feet,  the  bottom  will  be 
from  eight  to  nine  feet  directly  under  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  This 
hole  should  be  "  sprung,"  or  "  chambered,"  with  a  V/4  x  8-inch 
cartridge  of  40  per  cent,  dynamite,  and  then  loaded  with  from  5  to 
10  pounds  of  low  powder,  with  tamping  above  the  charge  to  the 
mouth  of  the  hole.  The  explosion  of  this  charge  breaks  up  the  hard 
soil  below  the  roots  of  the  tree,  so  that  it  can  hold  a  greater  quantity 
of  moisture,  which  the  tree  roots  will  take  up  as  they  require  it.  The 
beneficial  results  from  this  blasting  may  not  appear  in  the  next  crop, 
but  will  be  manifest  in  succeeding  ones  for  many  years. 

When  breaking  up  hardpan  between  the  trees  in  the  California 
orange  groves,  it  is  the  custom  to  bore  down  with  an  auger  just 
through  the  hardpan — usually  about  four  feet  below  the  surface. 
This  hole  is  "  sprung  "  or  "  chambered  "  with  one-half  of  a  P/^  x  8- 
inch  cartridge  of  stumping  powder  (10  per  cent.),  and  then,  after 
being  loaded  with  about  one  and  a  half  pounds  of  low  powder,  and 
well  tamped,  is  blasted. 

If  the  soil  is  inclined  to  be  swampy,  heavier  charges,  exploded 
deeper  in  the  ground,  will  break  up  the  lower  impervious  stratum, 
and  permit  the  surplus  water  to  sink  into  the  earth,  where  it  will  be 
conserved,  and  afterwards  given  up  to  the  roots  of  the  trees  as  they 
require  it.  i 

73 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  FOR  CROPS 


An  example  of  the  great  benefit  derived  from  the  use  of  ex- 
plosives, for  excavating  the  holes  in  w^hich  young  trees  are  to  be 
planted,  was  recently  brought  to  our  attention  by  a  well-known  fruit 
grower,  who  reported  that  he  planted  nine  peach  trees  a  few  years 
ago  to  determine  positively  whether  anything  was  to  be  gained  by 
using  dynamite.  Three  of  the  trees  were  planted  in  holes  made  by 
drilling  a  two-inch  auger  hole  three  to  four  feet  deep,  and  exploding 
a  charge  of  dynamite  in  the  bottom ;  the  other  six  trees  were  planted 
in  holes  of  the  regulation  size  dug  by  hand.  Three  years  later  the 
three  trees  which  had  been  planted  in  the  blasted  holes  were  strong 
and  healthy,  and  produced  between  five  and  six  bushels  of  very  fine 
peaches ;  but  the  other  six  trees,  planted  on  the  same  ground  without 
blasting,  bore  practically  no  peaches  at  all,  both  fruit  and  leaves 
having  shrivelled  up  and  dropped  off  during  the  dry  season. 

A  similar  experience  was  that  of  a  Western  farmer,  who  set 
out  an  apple  orchard  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  After  digging  a 
number  of  holes  for  the  young  trees,  he  decided  that  life  was  too 
short  for  such  slow  methods,  and  drove  to  town,  where  he  bought 
a  case  of  dynamite,  some  blasting  caps  and  fuse  from  the  hardware 
dealer.  With  this  he  blasted  holes  for  the  remaining  trees,  and  to- 
day, twenty  years  later,  he  reports  that  the  trees  planted  in  the  blasted 
holes  are  superior  in  every  way  to  the  others,  and  that  they  have 
produced  better  fruit  and  more  of  it,  ever  since  they  began  bearing. 

One  successful  Missouri  fruit  grower  states  that  he  would  never 
think  of  replanting  where  a  tree  had  died  out,  without  blasting  the 
hole  for  the  new  tree  with  dynamite.  The  new  trees  then  are  not  so 
likely  to  be  attacked  by  wet  rot  and  other  diseases,  and  are  markedly 
better  than  those  planted  in  holes  which  are  not  blasted. 

So  many  other  similar  cases  have  been  brought  to  our  atten- 
tion that  we  feel  every  fruit  grower  should  give  the  question  of  using 
explosives  careful  and  thorough  consideration. 


76 


A  DIFFICULT  PROBLEM 

Although  the  tree  had   been  cut  from  this  stump  for  many  years 

the  stump  was  still  comparatively  solid 


THE   LAST   STAGE 


KEEPING    UP    THE    FARM 


BREAKING  UP  ICE  GORGES 
STARTING  LOG  JAMS 
BREAKING  UP  LOG  ROLLWAYS 


KEEPING  UP  THE  FARM 


AFTER  a  farm  has  been  properly  laid  out  and  drained,  with 
all  buildings  erected,  roads  graded  and  fences  up;  when 
wells  have  been  driven,  fruit  trees  planted  and  subsoil  blasted, 
there  is  still  work  to  be  done  year  by  year,  and  in  much  of  this  work 
the  use  of  dynamite  means  a  great  saving  of  time  and  money.  Its 
use  for  blasting  up  subsoil  in  land  that  is  deteriorating,  for  blasting 
under  and  between  failing  fruit  trees,  and  for  cleaning  up  occasional 
stumps  and  boulders  overlooked  in  the  first  clearing,  has  already 
been  referred  to.  It  is  also  necessary  for  keeping  roads  and  ditches 
in  shape,  and  is  indispensable  in  those  parts  of  the  country  where  ice 
may  form  gorges  in  the  streams  in  the  early  spring.  Unless  these 
gorges  are  promptly  broken,  great  damage  may  be  caused  by  the 
water  backing  up  behind  them,  sometimes  overflowing  farms  and 
towns,  and  carrying  away  buildings  and  bridges. 

Dynamite  is  also  of  great  service  in  starting  log  jams,  breaking 
up  "  rollways,"  etc.,  in  the  districts  where  timbering  is  carried  on. 

BLASTING  ICE 

Ice  in  streams  sometimes  forms  jams  or  gorges  10  to  40  feet 
high.  When  water  backs  up  behind  these,  bridges  may  be  carried 
away  and  other  great  damage  and  loss  to  the  community  result.  All 
of  this  can  be  prevented  at  a  small  expense  by  the  use  of  dynamite. 

To  break  up  floating  ice  so  that  a  gorge  will  not  be  formed, 
charges  of  dynamite  should  be  exploded  on  the  surface  of  the  ice, 
the  size  of  the  charge  depending  on  the  thickness  of  the  ice.  If  the 
floating  ice  is  in  large  sections,  the  work  of  blasting  should  be  con- 
ducted on  a  broad,  slow-running  part  of  the  stream,  where  it  is 
possible  to  get  on  to  the  ice  either  directly  from  the  shore  or  in  boats. 
Successive  charges,  consisting  of  a  number  of  cartridges  of  40  per 
cent,  dynamite,  tied  together  in  a  bundle,  should  be  laid  on  the  ice 

79 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  FOR  CROPS 


and  exploded  with  fuse  and  blasting  cap,  until  the  ice  is  properly 
broken.  When  the  streams  are  narrow,  the  charges  of  explosives 
may  be  thrown  on  to  the  ice  from  the  shores  or,  if  the  ice  is  running 
swiftly,  the  charges  may  be  dropped  on  to  the  cakes  from  the  down- 
stream side  of  bridges.  The  charge  to  be  thrown  on  the  floating  ice 
should  be  prepared  by  tying  securely  together  in  a  bundle  the  re- 
quired number  of  cartridges,  the  cartridge  in  the  middle  of  the  bundle 
having  been  primed  with  a  blasting  cap  and  waterproof  fuse.  The 
place  where  the  fuse  enters  the  blasting  cap  should  be  well  coated 
with  soap  or  thick  grease  to  keep  water  from  getting  into  the  blasting 
cap  and  damaging  it.  A  block  of  wood,  a  stone,  or  some  other 
object  that  would  prevent  its  rolling  should  then  be  tied  to  the  charge, 
which,  after  the  fuse  is  lighted,  should  be  thrown  or  dropped  as 
nearly  as  possible  on  to  the  middle  of  the  ice  cake.  Particular  atten- 
tion must  be  given  in  this  operation  to  the  length  of  the  fuse.  Fuse 
generally  burns  from  two  to  three  feet  per  minute,  and  when  the 
fuse  is  lighted,  with  the  dynamite  still  in  the  hands  of  the  operator, 
extra  time  for  possible  emergencies  should  be  allowed. 

To  blast  out  ice  gorges  the  charge,  usually  of  from  5  to  25 
pounds  of  40  per  cent,  dynamite,  should  be  pressed  into  a  hollow 
or  crevice  at  what  appears  to  be  the  weakest  part  of  the  gorge.  This 
charge  should  be  exploded  from  a  distance  by  electricity,  so  that  the 
operator  can  be  on  shore  when  the  explosion  takes  place  and  the 
gorge  moves  out.  If  the  first  shot  does  not  start  the  gorge,  the  pro- 
cess should  be  repeated  until  it  is  broken.  To  open  great  ice  gorges, 
such  as  the  one  that  formed  in  the  Niagara  River  in  April,  1909, 
much  larger  charges  are  necessary.  In  one  blast  on  this  work  a 
charge  of  2500  pounds  of  dynamite  was  exploded. 

Watering  places  for  stock  along  the  banks  of  streams  can  be 
easily  kept  free  from  ice  in  winter  by  the  use  of  a  little  dynamite 
from  time  to  time. 

Since  ice  blasting  is  always  done  in  cold  weather,  it  is  necessary 
to  give  particular  attention  to  having  the  dynamite  thoroughly 
thawed.     If  this  is  not  done,  poor  results  will  follow. 

81 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

"STARTING"  LOG  JAMS 

Forty  per  cent,  semi-gelatin  is  invaluable  for  breaking  log  jams. 
A  charge  exploded  on  a  log,  above  or  below  water,  will  cut  it  in 
two  as  readily  as  can  be  done  with  an  axe,  with  the  advantage  of 
the  operator  being  at  a  safe  distance  when  the  jam  "  starts." 

BREAKING  UP  "ROLLWAYS" 

Forty  per  cent,  dynamite  can  be  used  to  great  advantage  in 
breaking  up  "  rollways  "  of  logs,  large  quantities  of  this  powerful 
explosive  being  used  each  season  by  the  lumbermen.  A  case  of 
this  explosive,  thawed  in  the  morning,  will,  if  covered  by  an  old  coat 
or  blanket  and  protected  from  the  cold,  be  ready  for  use  at  any  time 
during  that  day.  The  huge  piles  of  logs,  frozen  and  bound  together 
with  snow  and  ice,  can  be  instantly  loosened  with  a  little  dynamite 
instead  of  prying  them  apart  slowly  and  laboriously  with  cant  hooks 
and  levers.  At  a  season  when  time  is  truly  money,  the  dynamite 
used  in  this  way  saves  many  times  its  cost.  The  cases  of  dynamite 
can  be  transported  easily  and  safely  if  properly  handled.  No  log- 
ging camp  can  afford  to  be  without  it  a  single  day  when  engaged  in 
this  work. 


82 


EXPLOSIVES   AND 
BLASTING   SUPPLIES 


HOW   TO   HANDLE,   STORE 
AND   USE   THEM 


BLASTING  BY  ELECTRICITY 


PRINCIPLE  OF  EXPLOSIVES 


IDLASTING  Explosives  are  divided  into  two  general  classes, 
■■^    known  as  high  explosives  and  low  explosives;  dynamite  and 

low  powder  are  examples  of  the  former,  and  blasting  powder 
of  the  latter.  They  are  solids,  having  bound  up  in  themselves  very 
powerful  energy,  which,  when  properly  directed,  can  be  made  to 
do  an  enormous  amount  of  valuable  work.  To  get  them  to  do  this 
work  economically,  they  must  be  closely  confined  in  the  midst  of 
the  material  which  is  to  be  broken  or  thrown  out,  and  then  exploded ; 
that  is,  instantly  changed  from  a  small  volume  of  a  solid  to  a  very 
large  volume  of  a  gas.  Low  explosives  (blasting  powder)  will  do 
but  little,  if  any  work,  if  not  tightly  confined  or  corked  up  when 
exploded,  but  high  explosives  change  from  a  solid  to  a  gas  so  quickly 
that  they  will  jar  and  break  material  on  which  they  are  lying  when 
they  explode,  even  though  they  are  confined  very  little,  as  in  "  mud- 
capping  "  or  "  blistering  "  boulders,  or  if  not  confined  at  all,  as  when 
floating  ice  is  blasted. 

Low  explosives  are  exploded  by  a  spark,  but  a  spark  will  not 
explode  high  explosives,  although  it  may  ignite  them,  and  the  heat 
and  pressure  caused  by  burning  in  a  confined  space  may  result  in 
an  explosion  after  a  time. 

High  explosives  can  only  be  properly  exploded  by  a  very 
powerful  shock.  This  shock  is  brought  about  in  their  use  by  ex- 
ploding a  detonator,  which  has  been  inserted  in  the  charge  of  ex- 
plosives. This  detonator  is  either  a  blasting  cap,  which  is  exploded 
by  a  spark  from  the  fuse,  or  an  electric  fuze  (pronounced  fu-zee) 
which  is  exploded  by  a  line  wire,  superheated  by  an  electric  current. 

When  fuse  and  blasting  caps  are  used  it  is  necessary  for  the 
blaster  to  cut  the  necessary  length  of  fuse  from  a  roll,  and  fasten 
the  blasting  cap  to  the  freshly  cut  end  of  the  fuse  with  a  cap  crimper. 
The  electric  fuze  is  furnished  with  the  two  wires  sealed  into  it. 

Blasting  powder  is  exploded  by  the  spark  from  fuse  or  an  electric 
squib,  no  detonator  being  required. 

85 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

The  Detonator 

When  "  high  explosives  "  were  first  manufactured,  they  were 
not  as  safe  to  handle  or  use  as  the  properly  made  ones  now  are. 
Consequently  they  could  be  exploded  with  a  small  and  weak  de- 
tonator. The  standard  explosives  now  manufactured  cannot  be 
completeli;  exploded,  and  give  best  results,  if  anything  weaker  than 
a  No.  6  detonator  is  used  with  them.  Nevertheless,  many  dealers 
will  sell  to  inexperienced  consumers  No.  3  or  No.  4  detonators, 
simply  because  the  price  is  a  little  lower  than  that  of  stronger  ones. 
This  they  do  regardless  of  the  fact  that  the  reduction  in  price  is 
much  more  than  offset  by  the  loss  of  power  due  to  the  incomplete 
detonation  of  the  explosives  with  which  these  weak  detonators  are 
used. 

Storage 

Explosives  should  be  stored  in  a  dry,  well-ventilated  place,  not 
warmer  than  80  or  90  degrees  Fahrenheit.  They  should  always 
be  kept  under  lock  and  key,  so  that  children  or  irresponsible  people 
will  not  have  access  to  them,  and  should  not  be  stored  in  a  locality 
where  hunting  or  other  shooting  may  be  done,  unless  they  are  kept 
in  a  bullet-proof  building. 

Most  high  explosives  freeze  at  a  temperature  between  45  and 
50  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  when  frozen,  will  explode  either  only 
imperfectly  or  not  at  all.  Frozen  dynamite  should  therefore  never 
be  used  under  any  circumstances. 

Packages  and  Transportation 

High  explosives  are  put  up  in  cartridges,  generally  1 1/4  x  8- 
inch,  and  then  packed  with  sawdust  in  wooden  cases.  They  can, 
when  thus  packed,  be  shipped  on  freight  trains  or  carried  in  wagons, 
with  but  little  danger  of  explosion.  There  have  been  instances  where 
they  have  been  dropped,  and  the  cases  smashed,  without  an  ex- 
plosion resulting,  showing  that  these  high  explosives  stand  very  rough 
treatmenP;  still,  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  they  are  explosives, 
and  we  would  particularly  direct  the  reader's  attention  to  pages  99  to 
101  of  this  handbook,  where  stress  has  been  laid  on  "  What  Not  to 
Do."  If  these  instructions  are  observed,  the  user  need  have  no  fear 
of  an  accidental  explosion. 

86 


EXPLOSIVES      AND      BLASTING      SUPPLIES 

Thawing 

There  are  various  ways  of  thawing  high  explosives,  but  the 
only  safe  methods  are  those  which  thaw  slowlp  and  gradualli;. 

Burying  dynamite  in  water-tight  boxes  in  manure  is  a  safe  and 
fairly  effective  way  to  thaw  it,  provided  the  manure  is  fresh. 


THAWING  KETTLE 

The  safest  and  best  way  is  in  a  "  thawing  kettle."  A  thawing 
kettle  is  a  double-galvanized  iron  bucket,  having  an  outside  space 
for  hot  water  and  an  inner  water-tight  receptacle  for  the  dynamite. 
Some  thawing  kettles  are  made  in  one  piece,  while  others  are  in 
effect  two  pails,  the  outer  one  for  hot  water  and  the  inner  one  for 
the  dynamite.      (See  illustrations.) 


THAWING   KETTLE 

Never  thaw  dynamite  by  putting  it  near  a  fire,  nor  in  the  oven, 
nor  against  a  stove  or  steam  pipe.  Do  not  try  to  thaw  dynamite 
by  exposing  it  to  steam,  nor  by  soaking  it  in  hot  water. 

It  is  not  at  all  necessary  that  the  cartridges  should  feel  warm. 
All  that  is  necessary  is  to  have  them  soft  all  the  wap  through. 

87 


TAKING  OUT  CAP 


CUTTING  FUSt 


2   '% 


I 


PLflCING  CAP  ON  FUSE 


at^ 


MAKING  HOLE  IN  TOP        " '  , 

OF  CARTRIDGE  fStiaiMU*  '• 


INSERTING 
FUSE  AND  CAP  HM 
CARTRIDGE 


FOLDING 

CARTRIDGE     PAPER 

AROUND    FUSE 


TYING     CARTRIDGE 
PAPER    AROUND  FUSE 


ONE   METHOD  OF  MAKING  A  PRIMER    WITH    BLASTING  CAP  AND  FUSE 


EXPLOSIVES     AND     BLASTING     SUPPLIES 

Every  user  of  dynamite  who  has  occasion  to  thaw  it  should 
make  it  a  rule  never  to  heat  water  in  the  thawing  kettle,  but  in  some 
other  receptacle,  and  then,  after  removing  the  dynamite,  pour  the 
hot  water  into  the  water  compartment.  This  water  should  not  be 
so  hot  that  it  would  burn  the  hand.  Water  may  be  heated  in  the 
outer  pail  of  two-piece  thawing  kettles,  provided  the  inner  pail  has 
been  removed;  but  it  is  never  safe  to  put  a  one-piece  thawing  kettle 
over  a  fire,  even  after  the  dynamite  has  been  removed,  because 
enough  nitroglycerin  may  have  leaked  out  from  dynamite  previously 
thawed,  to  cause  an  explosion  if  the  thawing  kettle  is  put  over  a  fire. 


THAWING   KETTLE 

A  simple  and  effective  thawing  arrangement  may  be  made  by 
suspending  a  small  pail  or  bucket  containing  the  dynamite  in  a 
larger  bucket  partly  filled  with  warm  water.  Care  must  be  taken 
to  prevent  any  of  the  water  from  getting  into  the  inner  pail,  which 
should  have  a  tight-fitting  lid.  The  whole  should  be  covered  with 
a  piece  of  carpet,  or  an  old  coat,  until  the  dynamite  has  thawed. 

Priming 

Placing  the  detonator  in  a  cartridge  or  charge  of  high  ex- 
plosives is  called  priming  it,  and  the  cartridge  or  part  of  a  cartridge 
with  the  detonator  in  it  is  called  the  "  primer  "  or  "  primer  cart- 
ridge." 

The  first  step  in  the  preparation  of  the  primer  is  to  cut  the 
necessary  length  of  fuse  from  the  roll,  cutting  it  squarely  across  and 
not  diagonally.  After  carefully  inserting  the  fresh-cut  end  as  far  as 
it  will  go  into  the  blasting  cap,  fasten  the  latter  securely  to  the  fuse 
with  a  cap  crimper.  When  crimping  the  blasting  cap  to  the  fuse, 
the  crimp  should  be  made  near  the  end  which  the  fuse  enters,  so  as 
not  to  disturb  in  any  way  the  explosive  which  the  blasting  cap  con- 

89 


CUTTING  FUSE 


TYING  STRING  TO   FUSE      ^ 


TAKING  OUT  CAP 


s^Hs 


INSERTING 

FUSE  AND  CAP  IN  SIDE 

OF  CARTRIDGE 


ANOTHER   METHOD  OF  MAKING  A  PRIMER  WITH    BLASTING  CAP  AND  FUSE 


EXPLOSIVES      AND      BLASTING      SUPPLIES 

tains.  An  attempt  to  crimp  the  blasting  cap  near  the  other  end  would 
be  likely  to  cause  it  to  explode.  The  crimp  should  be  made  secure 
enough  to  prevent  the  fuse  from  pulling  out  of  the  blasting  cap  during 
the  charging  and  tamping  of  the  bore  hole,  and,  what  is  quite  as  im- 
portant, particularly  in  wet  work,  the  crimp  should  be  tight  enough 
to  keep  water  out  of  the  blasting  cap.  A  coating  of  soap,  tallow  or 
thick  grease,  spread  over  the  fuse  where  it  enters  the  blasting  cap, 
will  help  greatly  to  keep  the  water  out.  This  grease  should  not  be 
applied  until  after  the  blasting  cap  has  been  crimped  to  the  fuse. 
Oil  should  not  be  used  for  this  purpose,  as  it  may  soak  into  the  fuse 
and  damage  it. 

Be  sure  to  cut  the  fuse  long  enough  to  allow  it  to  extend  several 
inches  from  the  mouth  of  the  bore  hole  when  the  primer  is  in  place, 
and  also  long  enough  for  the  blaster  to  reach  a  place  of  safety  before 
the  charge  explodes.     Fuse  burns  from  two  to  three  feet  per  minute. 

To  prime  a  dynamite,  or  other  high  explosive,  cartridge  with 
blasting  cap  and  fuse,  make  a  hole  in  the  end  of  the  cartridge  after  un- 
folding the  paper  shell,  or  in  the  side  of  the  cartridge  near  one  end, 
with  a  small  pointed  stick,  about  the  diameter  of  a  lead  pencil.  This 
hole  should  not  be  much  larger  in  diameter  than  the  blasting  cap, 
for  an  air  space  around  it  always  detracts  from  the  force  with  which 
a  blasting  cap  shoots  into  the  explosive.  The  blasting  cap  should 
not  be  so  deep  in  the  cartridge  that  the  fuse  will  come  in  contact 
with  the  explosive  for  any  appreciable  distance,  as  side  spitting  of 
the  fuse  usually  ignites  the  explosive. 

Best  results  will  be  had  if  the  blasting  cap  is  pointed  straight 
down  into  the  primer  cartridge. 

When  the  blasting  cap  has  been  put  in  the  end  of  the  cartridge, 
the  paper  must  be  folded  carefully  about  the  fuse,  and  tied  securely 
with  a  piece  of  string.  When  the  blasting  cap  is  inserted  in  the  side 
of  the  cartridge  near  the  end,  the  fuse  is  held  in  position  by  tying  it 
with  a  double  loop  of  string  around  the  cartridge.  Both  of  these 
methods  of  priming  are  clearly  shown  in  the  illustrations  on  pages 
88  and  90. 

Charging 

Having  primed  the  cartridge  in  the  manner  described,  insert 
it  in  the  bore  hole  and  push  it  carefully  home.  It  is  sometimes  well 
in  dri;  ground  to  slit  the  paper  shells  lengthwise  before  putting  the 

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cartridges  into  the  bore  hole.  Push  them  firmly  into  place,  so  that 
they  will  fill  up  the  diameter  of  the  hole,  for  crevices  or  air  spaces 
greatly  lessen  the  power  of  an  explosive.  If  more  than  one  cartridge 
is  used  in  a  charge,  it  is  only  necessary  to  prime  the  top  or  outside 
one,  but  in  the  bore  hole  each  cartridge  must  touch  the  one  pre- 
viously loaded.  If  any  space  between  the  cartridges  occurs  through 
falling  dirt  or  stones,  or  through  the  sticking  of  a  cartridge  in  the 
bore  hole,  a  partial  misfire  may  result. 


Tamping 

After  the  charge  is  pressed  home,  as  directed,  put  in  two  or 
three  inches  of  fine  dirt  or  sand,  and  tamp  (pack)  lightly.  Then 
fill  up  two  or  three  inches  more  of  the  hole  with  tamping  material, 
packing  it  in  a  little  more  firmly.  After  five  or  six  inches  of  tamping 
covers  the  charge,  the  tamping  may  be  pressed  firmly  into  place 
without  danger  of  premature  explosion.  The  tamping  material 
should  be  packed  as  firmly  on  top  of  the  charge  as  can  be  done 
without  moving  the  electric  fuze  or  blasting  cap  and  fuse  in  the 
primer,  but  it  is  not  safe  to  tamp  by  a  blow  any  stronger  than  can 
be  given  by  hand.  Fill  the  bore  hole  up  with  tamping  until  even 
with  the  surface.  The  firmer  and  harder  the  tamping  can  be  made 
(without  overlooking  the  above  precautions)  the  better  will  be  the 
results.  If  the  bore  hole  is  not  properly  tamped,  the  charge  is  likely 
to  "  blow  out,"  or  at  any  rate  some  of  its  force  will  be  wasted. 

Be  sure  the  tamping  is  done  with  a  wooden  stick.  Never  use 
a  metal  bar  or  anything  having  metal  parts. 


NOTE 


Always  be  careful,  when  using  dynamite,  not  to  taste  it  nor 
get  it  on  the  hands,  for  the  smallest  quantity  will  nearly  always  cause 
a  violent  headache.  It  is  an  excellent  plan  to  wear  a  pair  of  old 
gloves,  which  should  be  destroyed  before  they  become  saturated  with 
the  nitro-glycerin  in  the  dynamite.  With  a  little  care,  a  great  deal 
of  dynamite  can  be  handled  before  it  is  necessary  to  destroy  the 
gloves. 

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EXPLOSIVES      AND      BLASTING      SUPPLIES 


BLASTING  SUPPLIES 

When  detonating  high  explosives  with  fuse  and  blasting  caps, 
the  only  supplies  necessary  besides  the  fuse  and  blasting  caps,  and 
the  tools  for  making  the  hole  and  for  tamping,  are  the  cap  crimper 
and  the  thawing  kettle.  The  latter  has  been  described  under  the 
paragraph  on  "  Thawing,"  page  87. 

When  the  blasting  is  done  by  electricity,  a  blasting  machine, 
coil  of  leading  wire  and  electric  fuzes  take  the  place  of  fuse  and 
blasting  caps.  A  spool  of  connecting  wire  and  roll  of  insulating  tape 
should  also  be  provided.  A  leading  wire  reel  is  not  a  necessity,  but 
saves  time  and  keeps  the  leading  wire  in  good  condition. 

Fuse 

Fuse  is  made  in  several  different  grades,  put  up  in  double  coils, 
consisting  of  two  single  coils  of  50  feet  each,  and  packed  in  cases 
containing  from  500  to  6000  feet.  In  wet  work,  "  double-tape  " 
or  "  triple-tape  "  fuse  should  be  used,  while  "  single-tape  "  or  "  cot- 


con  OF  FUSE 


ton  "  will  answer  in  dry  work.  Fuse  should  be  stored  in  a  cool, 
dry  place  to  keep  it  from  hardening  so  that  it  will  break  when  it  is 
unrolled,  or  from  getting  soft  and  defective.  In  cold  weather  fuse 
becomes  stiff  and  must  be  unrolled  very  carefully  to  keep  it  from 
breaking.     Most  fuse  burns  from  two  to  three  feet  per  minute. 

Blasting   Caps 

Blasting  caps  are  small  copper  cylinders  closed  at  one  end, 
which  contain  a  sensitive  and  highly  explosive  compound.  They 
must  always  be  handled  carefully,  kept  away  from  heat  or  sparks, 
and  must  not  be  subjected  to  heavy  knocks  or  jars.  They  should 
never  be  carried  loose  in  the  pocket,  nor  permitted  to  lie  about  where 
children  may  find  them.  They  are  very  dangerous  in  the  hands  of 
a  child  or  irresponsible  person.     They  should  never  be  stored  or 

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HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

carried  with  dynamite,  because  they  are  more  easily  exploded  by 
accident  than  is  dynamite,  and  if  they  explode  in  close  proximity 
to  dynamite  they  will  probably  cause  it  to  explode  also,  and  do  great 
damage.  If  blasting  caps  are  to  do  good  work,  they  must  be  stored 
in  a  perfectly  dry  place,  and  must  not  be  permitted  to  lie  in  a  damp 
place  for  even  a  short  time  before  using.  The  charge  which  they 
contain  is  very  quickly  damaged  by  moisture,  and,  although  it  may 
explode  when  damp,  it  explodes  with  so  little  force  that  it  may  not 
detonate  the  charge  of  dynamite,  or  may  only  partly  detonate  it. 


No.    6    BLASTING   CAP 

Blasting  caps  are  put  up  in  tin  boxes,  containing  100  each. 
These  boxes  are  then  packed  in  wooden  cases,  containing  from  500 
to  5000  blasting  caps.  They  are  manufactured  and  sold  in  six 
sizes — No.  3,  No.  4,  No.  5,  No.  6,  No.  7  and  No.  8,  but  nothing 
weaker  than  the  No.  6  can  be  depended  on  to  develop  the  full 
strength  of  the  explosive. 

Cap  Crimpers 

A  cap  crimper  is  inexpensive,  and  absolutely  necessary  if  the 
blasting  cap  is  to  be  properly  fastened  to  the  fuse.  Fastening  blast- 
ing caps  to  fuse  with  a  knife  or  with  the  teeth  is  exceedingly  dan- 
gerous and  inefficient. 

BLASTING   BY  ELECTRICITY 

When  a  good  deal  of  blasting  is  to  be  done,  it  is  usual  to  set 
off  the  blast  by  means  of  a  blasting  machine  and  electric  fuzes.  In 
this  way  any  number  of  charges,  from  one  up  to  forty  or  more,  can 
be  fired  simultaneously.  This  is  found  very  convenient  when  it  is 
necessary  to  get  rid  of  a  large  stump  or  an  extra  big  boulder,  as 
frequently  several  charges  fired  at  the  same  time  will  do  more  work 
than  the  same  charges  fired  successively,  or  than  one  charge  as  big 
as  all  of  the  smaller  ones  combined. 

A  very  little  thought  will  show  that  more  work  will  be  done 
when  firing  a  number  of  blasts  simultaneously  than  when  firing  them 
singly,  while  a  little  experience  will  teach  that  much  is  to  be  gained 

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EXPLOSIVES      AND      BLASTING      SUPPLIES 


by  firing  even  single  shots  electrically.  Another  advantage  gained 
in  firing  by  electricity  is,  that  in  case  of  a  misfire  (which  can  rarely 
happen  by  this  method) ,  it  is  unnecessary  to  wait  a  considerable  time 
before  returning  to  the  work,  as  must  be  done  when  using  fuse. 

Directions 

Use  electric  fuzes,  leading  and  connecting  wire,  and  blasting 
machine,  instead  of  fuse  and  blasting  caps.  The  electric  fuze  wires 
must  be  long  enough  to  extend  several  inches  out  of  the  bore  hole, 
and  care  must  be  taken  when  tamping  not  to  break  these  wires  or 
damage  the  insulation  on  them.     If  more  than  one  charge  is  to  be 


METHOD  OF  CONNECTING  TWO  LEADING  WIRES  TO  A  THREE-POST  BLASTING  MACHINE 

fired  at  one  time,  separate  the  two  electric  fuze  wires  extending 
from  each  hole  and  connect  one  of  these  wires  to  one  extending  from 
the  hole  on  one  side,  and  the  other  one  to  one  of  the  wires  extending 
from  the  hole  on  the  other  side,  and  so  on,  until  all  are  connected 
together  in  a  string,  with  one  free  wire  extending  from  the  first  hole, 
and  another  extending  from  the  last  hole.  If  the  electric  fuze  wires 
are  not  long  enough  to  reach  each  other,  use  a  piece  of  connecting 
wire  to  join  them. 

Be  sure  that  all  wire  ends  are  scraped  clean  and  bright  before 
they  are  connected  together. 

The  charges  having  all  been  connected  as  directed  above,  the 
free  wire  of  the  first  hole  should  be  joined  to  one  of  the  "  leading  " 
wires,  and  the  free  wire  of  the  last  hole  to  the  other  leading  wire. 

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HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

The  leading  wires  should  be  long  enough  to  reach  a  point  at  a  safe 
distance  from  the  blast — say  250  feet,  at  least. 

All  being  ready,  and  not  until  everybody  is  at  a  safe  distance, 
connect  the  leading  wires  to  the  binding  posts  on  the  top  of  the 
blasting  machine,  through  each  of  which  a  hole  is  bored  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  bring  the  wing  nuts  down  firmly  upon  the  wires. 

Now  to  fire:  If  using  a  push-down  blasting  machine,  take  hold 
of  the  handle,  lift  the  rack  bar  (square  rod  toothed  upon  one  side) 
to  its  full  height  and  push  it  down  with  all  force,  bringing  it  to  the 
bottom  of  the  box  with  a  solid  thud  and  the  blast  will  be  made. 


METHOD  OF  CONNECTING  THREE  LEADING  WIRES  TO  A  THREE-POST   BLASTING  MACHINE 


The  Blasting  Machine 

The  "push-down"  blasting  machine  is  made  in  three  sizes: 
No.  2,  which  will  fire  up  to  20  electric  fuzes  at  one  time;  No.  3, 
which  will  fire  up  to  30  electric  fuzes  at  one  time ;  and  No.  4,  which 
will  fire  up  to  50  electric  fuzes  at  one  time.  The  No.  3  size  is  made 
with  three  posts,  when  so  ordered,  without  extra  cost,  and  the  No.  4 
size  is  always  made  with  three  posts.  The  rated  capacity  of  a  three- 
post  blasting  machine  is  increased  about  50  per  cent,  when  three 
leading  wires  are  used. 

Blasting  machines  with  three  posts  can  be  used  with  either  two 
or  three  leading  wires.  When  used  with  two  leading  wires,  one 
wire  is  connected  to  the  middle  post  and  the  other  to  either  one  of 
the  outside  posts.     When  used  with  three  leading  wires,  those  from 

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EXPLOSIVES      AND      BLASTING      SUPPLIES 

the  two  outside  posts  are  connected  to  the  electric  fuzes  on  the  ends 
of  the  circuit,  and  that  from  the  middle  post  is  connected  to  the 
electric  fuze  wire,  or  the  connecting  wire,  somewhere  near  the  middle 
of  the  circuit. 

Leading  Wire 

At  least  250  feet  double  of  leading  wire  should  be  provided, 
so  that  the  blaster  will  be  out  of  danger  when  he  fires  the  shot.  If 
the  blast  is  a  large  one,  it  will  probably  be  necessary  for  the  blaster 


COIL  OF  LEADING  WIRE 


to  be  300  or  even  500  feet  away.     Leading  wire  is  sold  in  250-feet, 
300-feet  and  500-feet  coils. 

It  is  sold  by  the  pound,  and  weighs  about  two  pounds  to  the 
hundred  feet. 

Connecting  Wire 

Connecting  wire  is  used  to  connect  electric  fuze  wires  in  adjoin- 
ing bore  holes  when  the  wires  are  not  long  enough  to  reach  each 


SPOOL  OF  CONNECTING  WIRE 

other.     It  is  wound  on  spools  holding  one  pound  or  two  pounds,  and 
is  sold  by  the  pound. 

Electric  Fuzes 

The  electric  fuze  is  a  blasting  cap  having  two  insulated  copper 
wires  fastened  into  it  with  a  composition  plug.     These  wires  are 

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HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

joined  togethed  in  the  cap  by  a  very  fine  and  delicate  wire,  which 
rough  handling  may  break  and  make  the  electric  fuze  worthless. 
The  charge  which  they  contain  is  just  as  sensitive  to  shock,  and  just 
as  easily  affected  by  moisture,  as  that  of  the  blasting  cap ;  so  the  same 


rules  for  storing  and  handling  must  be  observed.  Electric  fuzes  are 
put  up  25  or  50  in  pasteboard  cartons,  which  are  packed  for  shipment 
in  wooden  cases.  They  are  made  in  four  grades,  numbered  4,  6,  7 
and  8,  and  with  wires  from  4  feet  to  30  feet  long.  The  strength  of 
electric  fuzes  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  blasting  caps  bearing  the 
same  number,  and  nothing  weaker  than  the  No.  6  grade  can  be  de- 
pended on  for  best  results  from  high  explosives. 

TO  PRIME  A  CARTRIDGE  WITH  AN  ELECTRIC  FUZE 

The  correct  way  to  prime  a  high  explosive  cartridge  with  an 
electric  fuze  is  to  follow  the  same  methods  as  when  fuse  and  blast- 
ing cap  are  used.     (See  pages  88  and  90.) 

The  common  custom  of  taking  one  or  more  loops,  or  half- 
hitches,  around  the  cartridge  with  the  wires  themselves,  after  inserting 
the  electric  fuze  cap  in  a  hole  made  diagonally  in  the  side  of  the 
cartridge  near  one  end,  is  always  to  be  condemned.  The  principal 
objection  is  that  the  looping  of  the  wires  is  very  likely  to  break  the 
insulation,  causing  short  circuits,  or  leakage  of  electric  current  in 
wet  work.     Sometimes  even  the  wires  themselves  are  broken. 

Ordering 

If  there  is  an  uncertainty  as  to  what  grade  of  explosive  should 
be  ordered  for  any  work,  a  letter,  addressed  to  the  nearest  office  of 
some  responsible  dynamite  manufacturer,  telling  just  what  work  is 
to  be  done,  will  have  careful  attention. 

If  the  work  to  be  done  warrants  it,  the  manufacturers  will  send 
to  any  part  of  the  world,  at  their  own  expense,  a  competent  man  to 
explain  the  use  of  explosives. 

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EXPLOSIVES      AND      BLASTING      SUPPLIES 

Precautions  to  be  Observed  in  General  witb 
Regard  to  Explosives 


DON'T  forget  the  nature  of  explosives,  but  remember  that  with 
proper  care  they  can  be  handled  with  comparative  safety. 

DON'T  smoke  while  you  are  handling  explosives,  and  DON'T 
handle  explosives  near  an  open  light. 

DON'T  shoot  into  explosives  with  a  rifle  or  pistol  either  in  or  out 
of  a  magazine. 

DON'T  leave  explosives  in  a  field  or  any  place  where  stock  can 
get  at  them.  Cattle  like  the  taste  of  the  soda  and  salt- 
petre in  explosives,  but  the  other  ingredients  would  prob- 
ably make  them  sick  or  kill  them. 

DON'T  handle  or  store  explosives  in  or  near  a  residence. 

DON'T  leave  explosives  in  a  wet  or  damp  place.  They  should 
be  kept  in  a  suitable,  dry  place,  under  lock  and  key,  and 
where  children  or  irresponsible  persons  cannot  get  at  them. 

DON'T  explode  a  charge  to  chamber  a  bore  hole  and  then  im- 
mediately reload  it,  as  the  bore  hole  will  be  hot  and  the 
second  charge  may  explode  prematurely. 

DON'T  do  tamping  with  iron  or  steel  bars  or  tools.  Use  only  a 
wooden  tamping  stick,  with  no  metal  parts. 

DON'T  force  a  primer  into  a  bore  hole. 

DON'T  explode  a  charge  before  every  one  is  well  beyond  the  dan- 
ger zone  and  protected  from  flying  debris.  Protect  your 
supply  of  explosives  also  from  danger  from  this  source. 

DON'T  hurry  in  seeking  an  explanation  for  the  failure  of  a  charge 
to  explode. 

DON'T  drill,  bore  or  pick  out  a  charge  which  has  failed  to  ex- 
plode. Drill  and  charge  another  bore  hole  at  least  two 
feet  from  the  missed  one. 

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HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

DON'T  use  two  kinds  of  explosives  in  the  same  bore  hole,  except 
where  one  is  used  as  a  primer  to  detonate  the  other,  as 
v/here  dynamite  is  used  to  detonate  low  powder.  The 
quicker  explosive  may  open  cracks  in  the  rock  and  allow 
the  slower  to  blow  out  through  these  cracks,  doing  little 
or  no  work. 

DON'T   use  frozen  or  chilled  explosives. 

DON'T  use  any  arrangement  for  thawing  dynamite  other  than  one 
of  those  recommended  by  the  dynamite  manufacturers. 

DON'T  thaw  dynamite  on  heated  stoves,  rocks,  sand,  bricks  or 
metal,  or  in  an  oven,  and  don't  thaw  dynamite  in  front  of, 
near  or  over  a  steam  boiler  or  fire  of  any  kind. 

DON'T  take  dynamite  into  or  near  a  blacksmith  shop  or  near  a 
forge  on  open  work. 

DON'T  put  dynamite  on  shelves  or  anything  else  directly  over  steam 
or  hot-water  pipes  or  other  heated  metal  surface. 

DON'T  cut  or  break  a  dynamite  cartridge  while  it  is  frozen,  and 
don't  rub  a  cartridge  of  dynamite  in  the  hands  to  complete 
thawing. 

DON'T  heat  a  thawing  house  with  pipes  containing  steam  under 
pressure. 

DON'T  place  a  hot  water  thawer  over  a  fire,  and  never  put  dyna- 
mite into  hot  water  or  allow  it  to  come  in  contact  with 
steam. 

DON'T  allow  thawed  dynamite  to  remain  exposed  to  low  tem- 
perature before  using  it.  If  it  freezes  again  before  it  is 
used,  it  must  be  thawed  again. 

DON'T  allow  priming  (the  placing  of  a  blasting  cap  or  electric  fuze 
in  dynamite)  to  be  done  in  a  thawing  house  or  magazine. 

DON'T  prime  dynamite  cartridges,  or  charge  or  connect  the  bore 
holes  for  electric  firing,  during  the  immediate  approach 
or  progress  of  a  thunderstorm. 

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EXPLOSIVES      AND      BLASTING      SUPPLIES 


DON'T  carry  blasting  caps  or  electric  fuzes  in  your  pocket. 

DON'T  tap  or  otherwise  investigate  a  blasting  cap  or  electric  fuze. 

DON'T  attempt  to  take  blasting  caps  from  the  box  by  inserting  a 
wire,  nail  or  other  sharp  instrument. 

DON'T  try  to  withdraw  the  wires  from  an  electric  fuze. 

DON'T  fasten  a  blasting  cap  to  the  fuze  with  the  teeth  or  by  flat- 
tening it  with  a  knife — use  a  cap  crimper. 

DON'T  keep  electric  fuzes,  blasting  machines  or  blasting  caps  in 
a  damp  place. 

DON'T  attempt  to  use  electric  fuzes  with  the  regular  insulation  in 
very  wet  work.  For  this  purpose  secure  those  which  are 
waterproof. 

DON'T  worry  along  with  old,  broken  leading  wire  or  connecting 
wire.  A  new  supply  won't  cost  much  and  will  pay  for 
itself  many  times  over. 

DON'T  handle  fuse  carelessly  in  cold  weather,  for  when  cold  it 
is  stiff  and  breaks  easily. 

DON'T  store  or  transport  blasting  caps  or  electric  fuzes  with  high 
explosives. 

DON'T  store  fuse  in  a  hot  place,  as  this  may  dry  it  out  so  that 
uncoiling  will  break  it. 

DON'T  "  lace  "  fuze  through  dynamite  cartridges.  This  practice 
is  frequently  responsible  for  the  burning  of  the  charge. 

DON'T  operate  blasting  machines  half-heartedly.  They  are  built 
to  be  operated  with  full  force.  They  must  be  kept  clean 
and  dry. 

DON'T  cut  the  fuse  short  to  save  time.     It  is  dangerous  economy. 

DON'T  expect  a  cheap  article  to  give  as  good  results  as  a  high- 
grade  one. 

DON'T  expect  explosives  to  do  good  work  if  you  try  to  explode 
them  with  a  detonator  weaker  than  a  No.  6. 

101 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA 

LINES  AND  THE 

FARMER 


Creating  Traffic  through  Co-operation 
of  Farmer  and  Railroad 


nnWO  years  ago  farmers  in  the  Eastern  States  had  never  seen  an 
*•      educational  train,  and  tales  of  one  would  no  doubt  have  been 

received  with  some  misgivings.  To-day  it  is  no  unusual  sight 
to  see  a  hundred  or  more  farmers  waiting  at  a  small  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  way-station  for  a  special  train  that  is  to  bring  them  a  mes- 
sage on  "  good  roads,"  or  one  dealing  with  the  latest  scientific 
methods  of  orchard  development,  improving  corn,  alfalfa,  and 
various  staple  crops. 

The  conservation  of  our  natural  resources  is  receiving  no  stronger 
support  than  that  afforded  by  the  railroads  in  this  educational  cam- 
paign. Much  that  is  left  of  the  farms  to-day  is  skimmed  milk.  Our 
forefathers  took  the  cream.  Every  sand-drift  and  worked-out  acre 
is  a  monument  to  the  indifference  of  the  farmer  who  refuses  to  believe 
that  somebody  knows  more  about  farming  than  his  grandfather. 

In  the  last  analysis,  domesticity  of  the  highest  type  is  being  pro- 
moted by  this  policy  of  enlightened  self-interest  which  the  railroads 
are  pursuing.  Farms  are  being  improved,  and  the  farmer  is  being 
taught  to  make  money.  The  practical  illustration  of  new  methods 
and  ideas  is  creating  better  farmers;  they  are  happier;  their  families 
are  happier,  and  citizenship  is  bettered. 

"You  are  taking  coals  to  Newcastle!  "  the  skeptics  tell  the 
railroads,  but  the  latter  know  better.  They  have  talked  with  the 
farmers.  They  know  that  from  sections  of  New  Jersey,  where  potato 
growing  on  a  commercial  basis  was  not  thought  of  ten  years  ago, 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  barrels  are  now  being  shipped  every  season. 
The  railroads  have  found  it  profitable  to  induce  farmers  to  increase 
the  number  of  cattle  on  their  farms,  because  live  stock  must  have  feed 
and  railroads  must  haul  it;  because  dairy  products  are  in  demand  and 
must  be  carried  to  market. 

Through  the  schools  of  a  number  of  the  corn-growing  States, 
boys  and  girls  are  being  stimulated  by  prizes  to  plant  little  patches  of 

104 


CREATING   TRAFFIC   THROUGH    CO-OPERATION 

corn.  Out  of  each  community  where  an  exhibit  is  held,  ten  prize- 
winning  ears  are  sent  to  the  county  exhibit.  The  best  ten  at  the 
latter  are  entered  in  a  State  show,  and  later  the  States  compete.  The 
Maryland,  Delaware  and  Virginia  Railway  is  trying  the  same  plan 
in  Virginia;  prizes  are  being  offered  children  for  the  largest  potato 
grown   by   themselves. 

II 

Interest  in  scientific  agriculture  is  growing.  The  city  and  the 
farm  are  being  brought  closer  together.  Even  to-day,  experienced 
railroad  men  are  predicting  that  only  a  short  time  will  elapse  before 
the  country  will  be  dotted  with  small  experimetal  farms  established 
by  the  railroads  to  show  the  farmers  in  each  section  just  what  pos- 
sibilities are  within  their  reach. 

This  agricultural  awakening  is  bearing  fruit  abundantly.  Crops 
that  where  formerly  supposed  to  belong  only  to  one  section  are  being 
introduced  into  others;  farmers  are  experimenting  in  growing  various 
cereals,  fruits  and  vegetables,  in  much  the  same  way  as  a  railroad 
experiments  with  all  manner  of  appliances,  looking  for  the  best. 
Opportunities  without  number  are  opening  up  every  day  before  both 
the  railroad  and  the  farmer,  by  reason  of  the  newly  formed  partner- 
ship. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  has  in  the  past  three 
years  been  conducting  an  active  campaign  in  the  interests  of  scientific 
farming.  Co-operating  with  State  Agricultural  Colleges,  special 
educational  trains  and  steamboats  have  been  run  through  various 
sections  of  the  country,  and  the  enthusiasm  that  has  been  aroused  has 
proved  to  the  Railroad  Company  the  wisdom  of  its  efforts.  The 
intense  interest  displayed  on  every  hand  has  given  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  the  farmers  are  in  a  receptive  mood,  and  that  only  a  little 
headway  must  be  made  before  results  in  increased  traffic  will  be 
apparent. 

The  value  of  staple  crops  grown  in  the  United  States  last  year 
— crops  such  as  corn,  hay,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  potatoes,  tobacco, 
etc. — was  more  than  $3,600,000,000.  In  Pennsylvania  alone,  the 
value  of  staple  farm  crops  for  the  year  was  $  1 5  7,000,000,  and  there 
were  some  224,000  farmers  who  shared  in  this  production.  It  has 
been  estimated  by  the  Chief  Agronomist  of  the  State  College  of 
Agriculture  of  Pennsylvania  that  if  each  of  these  224,000  farmers 
would  increase  the  yield  of  corn  1  bushel  to  the  acre,  the  additional 

105 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

revenue  to  tfiem  from  corn  grown  in  the  State  would  amount  to 
$1,044,000.  Further  than  that,  $780,000  would  roll  into  the 
pockets  of  these  farmers  if  they  would  select  and  test  their  seed  corn 
carefully  and  thus  add  ten  kernels  to  each  ear  of  corn  grown  by  them. 

Ill 

Fifteen  years  ago,  Sanford,  Fla.,  was  one  of  the  great  orange- 
growing  centers  in  that  State.  Thousands  of  carloads  were  shipped 
to  Northern  markets  every  year.  In  1895,  a  cold  wave  sent  the 
thermometer  scudding  down  to  a  degree  seldom  reached  in  that 
section  of  Florida;  every  orange  tree  thereabouts  was  frozen,  and 
the  farmers  were  in  a  pitiable  plight.  One  of  the  more  progressive 
growers  did  not  sit  around  and  cry  over  his  ilMuck,  but  started  ex- 
periments to  see  what  he  could  grow  on  his  land  that  had  so  suddenly 
fallen  in  value.  He  began  with  the  cultivation  of  celery,  and  the 
success  he  has  had,  as  well  as  that  enjoyed  by  his  neighbors,  is  seen 
in  the  fact  that  the  shipments  of  celery  from  Sanford  last  season 
amounted  to  some  1200  carloads.  In  addition,  various  vegetables 
are  being  raised  in  other  seasons  on  the  same  land. 

It  is  this  sort  of  development  for  which  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road is  working.  Just  as  it  has  been  adding  second,  third  and  fourth 
tracks  to  its  line,  just  so  it  is  seeking  the  same  intensive  development 
of  the  agricultural  districts.  The  Railroad  realizes  that  with  expan- 
sion limited,  as  it  is  to-day,  by  reason  of  the  network  of  lines  that 
cover  the  country,  there  must  be  an  internal  unfolding  of  resources. 

Several  years  ago,  a  representative  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road was  compelled  to  while  away  a  few  hours  betwen  trains  in  a 
small  town.  He  inquired  of  the  station  agent  what  was  to  be  seen 
in  the  neighborhood  and  was  advised  to  take  a  boat  trip  up  the  river. 
In  the  course  of  a  ride  of  an  hour  or  more,  he  noticed  a  number  of 
vineyards  lining  the  river  banks.  The  railroader  was  an  observing 
man,  and  his  first  thought  was,  "  To  what  place  are  those  grapes 
shipped  and  over  what  road?  "  All  thoughts  of  catching  the  train 
left  his  mind,  and  a  horse  and  wagon  was  summoned  to  take  him  on 
a  tour  of  the  different  farms.  After  a  few  interviews,  he  learned  that 
the  grapes  were  used  for  wine,  which  was  shipped  over  another  rail- 
road to  market. 

106 


CREATING   TRAFFIC   THROUGH   CO-OPERATION 

In  the  travel  of  a  day,  the  freight  agent  saw  every  grower  of 
grapes  in  the  district,  and,  after  some  hesitation,  they  agreed  to 
ship  some  of  their  product  over  his  road  if  he  would  provide  means 
of  getting  it  to  the  Railroad,  and  find  some  one  to  handle  it  at  the 
market.  Trouble  loomed  up,  however,  when  a  commission  man  in 
a  nearby  city  said  that  a  carload  of  white  Niagara  grapes  would 
flood  the  market  in  his  town;  but  he  finally  agreed  to  take  them  on 
consignment,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  the  grapes  to  arrive 
on  a  Saturday  morning.  On  Friday  afternoon  a  wagon,  provided 
by  the  railroad,  went  from  farm  to  farm  and  collected  the  grapes, 
taking  them  to  the  car.  The  latter  arrived  at  its  destination  about 
4  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and  the  grapes  were  distributed  among 
the  retailers.  In  the  meantime,  large  placards  had  been  printed  by 
the  freight  agent,  reading: 

"Take  Home  a  Basket  of  White  Niagara  Grapes  for 
15  Cents." 

At  9  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning,  every  basket  of  the  grapes 
had  been  sold  and  people  were  calling  for  more.  Such  was  the 
start  of  a  traffic  in  grapes  from  one  station,  which  is  to-day  shipping 
nearly  a  thousand  carloads  every  season. 

The  Railroad  provided  the  transportation,  the  market,  the  buy- 
ers, the  advertising  and  the  customers,  yet  not  one  whit  of  expense 
did  it  incur  outside  of  its  ordinary  expenses  of  hauling,  other  than 
the  hire  of  a  horse  and  wagon  for  a  few  hours,  and  the  cost  of  print- 
ing the  placards. 

Another  striking  illustration  of  this  policy  was  afforded  several 
years  ago  on  the  Long  Island  Railroad.  The  owner  of  a  small 
pond  of  water  in  New  York  State  harvested  about  5000  tons  of 
ice  every  winter.  He  sold  it  in  the  summer  to  cottagers.  The  traffic 
manager  of  the  Railroad  called  on  this  iceman  and  found  that  he 
actually  sold  only  about  1500  tons  a  year. 

"  Why  don't  you  ship  your  ice  to  the  city?  "  he  inquired. 

"  Oh,  I  have  no  loading  facilities,  and  if  I  did,  I  don't  know 
anyone  in  the  city  who  would  buy  the  ice,"  was  the  replj^ 

"  We  will  arrange  for  such  facilities,  and  will  also  see  that 
you  find  a  market  for  your  ice." 

The  bargain  was  struck.  The  Railroad  provided  facilities  and 
found  a  customer  for  the  ice,  a  large  ice-cream  factory.  That 
winter  20,000  tons  of  ice  were  shipped  from  the  small  pond  that 

107 


HANDBOOK       OF       EXPLOSIVES 

had  formerly  yielded  but  1 500  tons  in  sales.  So  much  for  the 
winter.  The  traffic  man  went  to  the  officers  of  an  ice  company 
and  induced  them  to  lease  the  icehouse  near  the  pond  for  the  season 
that  they  might  supply  the  people  of  the  town  with  ice  in  the  sum- 
mer. When  the  small  town  was  not  shipping  ice  to  the  city,  the 
city  was  shipping  ice  to  the  village.  As  the  traffic  man  put  it :  "We 
have  to  get  it  coming  and  going," 

To  induce  the  Florida  farmers  to  grow  pineapples,  the  Florida 
East  Coast  Railway  supplied  the  seed  and  agreed  to  build  a  side- 
track into  each  farm  that  undertook  the  cultivation  of  pineapples. 
The  result  has  been  that  this  season  the  shipments  of  this  delightful 
fruit  from  points  on  the  East  Coast  Railway  will  amount  to  a 
million  crates. 

IV 

These  incidents  illustrate  how  alive  to  opportunities  are  the 
railroads,  and  now  comes  the  latest  move  in  this  direction — one  that 
bids  fair  to  work  wonders  for  agricultural  States;  namely,  the  edu- 
cational compaign  that  is  being  waged  by  means  of  schools  on 
wheels.  When  the  mountain  would  not  come  to  Mahomet,  Ma- 
homet went  to  the  mountain ;  so  it  is  with  the  railroads,  which  carry 
to  the  gate  of  every  farm  along  their  lines  practical  lessons  in  farm- 
ing. They  are  supplying  the  trains  and  have  secured  the  co- 
operation of  the  State  Agricultural  Colleges  to  supply  the  teachers. 
The  latter  are  not  a  silk-stocking  lot,  but  practical  farmers,  who 
talk  in  practical  terms;  they  are  men  who  have  made  a  study  of 
soil  conditions,  and  know  the  needs  of  each  locality.  They  deliver 
their  talks  in  the  cars,  which  are  fitted  up  as  lecture  rooms. 

Stops  of  45  minutes  are  usually  made  by  these  farmers'  specials 
and  not  more  than  five  minutes  is  lost  in  getting  the  people  in  and 
out  of  the  cars.  The  moment  the  train  stops,  there  is  a  rush  for 
seats,  for  it  is  not  infrequent  that  the  crowd  at  a  station  is  so  large 
than  an  overflow  meeting  is  held,  with  a  lecturer  talking  from  the  rear 
platform  of  a  car.  There  is  no  boisterousness  and  no  levity  at 
the  meetings.  The  farmers  are  serious  in  their  endeavor  to  secure 
ideas  that  will  help  them  in  their  work. 

In  the  audiences  at  these  schools  on  wheels  are  found  farmers 
from  every  class.  Old  men  hobbling  on  canes  are  seen  sitting  beside 
the  farmer  who  has  just  reached  the  age  of  manhood.  There  are 
women  anxious  for  lessons  in  poultry  farming.     There  are  tenants, 

108 


CREATING   TRAFFIC   THROUGH   CO-OPERATION 

laborers,  and  farm  owners.  They  have  come  with  samples  of  corn, 
alfalfa,  and  other  things  they  raise,  that  they  may  be  told  how  to 
improve  them.  They  are  taught  how  to  plant  and  prune  as  well 
as  to  spray  fruit  trees  properly,  that  they  may  combat  the  dreaded 
San  Jose  scale  and  other  pests.  The  desire  for  information  is  as 
apparent  in  the  old  man  of  80  as  in  the  younger  farmer.  Intelligent 
questions  from  the  auditors  meet  with  intelligent  replies,  in  words 
that  can  be  understood  by  all. 

A  record  was  kept  of  the  attendance  at  the  lectures  on  a  farm- 
ers' special  that  recently  made  a  three-day  trip  through  Eastern 
Pennsylvania  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  it  showed  that 
no  less  than  5000  farmers  were  present.  These  farmers  in  many 
instances  came  from  miles  around.  At  practically  every  station 
there  were  hundreds  of  vehicles  of  all  descriptions.  The  boat- 
shaped  Conestoga  wagon  stood  alongside  of  the  automobile,  while 
the  ox-cart  hobnobbed  at  the  same  hitching  post  with  a  fine  pair  of 
mules  attached  to  a  farm  wagon  of  latest  design. 

What  can  they  teach  a  farmer  in  40  minutes?  Fundamental 
principles,  which,  if  applied,  will  make  a  difference  in  the  number 
of  kernels  on  an  ear  of  corn;  principles  which,  if  applied,  will  in- 
crease the  yield  of  an  acre  of  wheat,  of  oats,  or  potatoes. 

Below  is  an  extract  from  a  lecture  as  given  on  a  farmers' 
special,  showing  how  quickly  they  reach  the  meat  of  the  topic  under 
discussion.  At  Gap,  Pa.,  last  spring,  the  professor,  who  was  ad- 
dressing a  hundred  or  more  farmers  in  the  alfalfa  car,  began  his 
talk  in  some  such  manner  as  this: 

"  An  acre  of  good  alfalfa  produces  twice  as  much  digestible 
nutriment  as  an  acre  of  red  clover.  It  is  therefore  profitable  for 
our  farmers  to  make  every  effort  to  establish  alfalfa  fields.  Your 
climate  is  favorable  to  alfalfa,  which  can  be  grown  on  a  variety  of 
soils.  The  most  favorable  is  a  gravelly  loam  with  a  porous  sub- 
soil. There  must  be  drainage,  fertility,  lime  and  inoculation.  Al- 
falfa is  a  lime-loving  plant,  and  if  you  haven't  a  limy  soil,  apply 
lime  at  the  rate  of  1 000  to  2000  pounds  per  acre,  etc." 

In  addition  to  the  lecture  which  the  farmer  hears  on  the  train,  he 
receives  without  charge  copies  of  various  pamphlets  treating  in 
detail  of  the  subjects  under  discussion,  and  he  may  take  these  pam- 
phlets home  with  him  for  reference. 

109 


HANDBOOK      OF      EXPLOSIVES 

The  success  attained  with  farmers'  trains  caused  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  to  go  a  step  further  in  this  direction.  It  sent  a 
special  train  over  parts  of  its  line  to  collect  the  agents  in  charge 
of  stations  in  rural  communities,  that  they  themselves  might  visit  the 
Pennsylvania  State  College  for  an  inspection  of  the  experiment 
station  maintained  there.  The  authorities  at  the  college  gave  their 
hearty  co-operation,  devoting  an  entire  day  to  showing  the  agents 
just  what  work  was  done  there,  and  also  what  could  be  accom- 
plished by  the  farmers  in  the  State  if  they  would  follow  certain 
principles  that  have  been  found  by  scientific  experiment  to  be  car- 
dinal to  the  success  of  a  farm.  The  agents  returned  to  their  homes 
enthusiastic  missionaries  in  the  cause  of  good  farming — intensive 
farming. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  has  this  year  undertaken  the  dis- 
semination of  farming  literature.  This  is  being  done,  the  company 
announced,  to  offer  to  farmers  in  the  territory  which  it  serves,  the 
benefits  of  scientific  research  and  improvement  in  methods  resulting 
from  careful  study  and  experiment.  The  first  pamphlets  issued 
were  on  "  Alfalfa,"  and  "  The  Use  of  Lime  on  Land."  Some 
30,000  copies  were  distributed.  Later,  four  booklets  on  orchard 
development  were  sent  out.  The  subjects  of  these  were  "  Planting," 
"  Culitvation,"  "  Pruning,"  and  "  Spraying." 

V 

The  railroads  are  imparting  these  new  ideas  in  a  novel  manner, 
and,  further,  they  are  demonstrating  that  the  ideas  are  practical. 
It  is  at  this  point  that  the  experimental  farm  of  a  railroad  is  not 
only  useful,  but  essential. 

Five  years  ago,  the  president  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad 
established  an  experimental  farm  on  1 0  acres  of  what  was  supposed 
to  be  waste  land — the  poorest  land  on  Long  Island.  A  competent 
man  was  placed  in  charge  and  was  given  carte  blanc  to  go  ahead 
and  see  what  he  could  do  in  the  way  of  raising  truck.  A  year  later 
another  farm  was  established  by  the  Long  Island  Railroad.  Last 
summer  300  different  kinds  of  plants,  vegetables  and  fruits  were 
grown  on  these  farms.  A  head  of  cabbage  as  large  as  a  wheel- 
barrow was  grown  on  land  that  five  years  ago  the  company  was 
told  was  good  for  nothing  but  salt  ponds.  The  farmers  were  aston- 
ished— dumfounded — to  see   the  opportunities  within  their  reach. 

no 


CREATING   TRAFFIC   THROUGH   CO-OPERATION 


The  result  is  that  truck  farms  have  multiplied  on  the  eastern  end 
of  Long  Island  and  a  large  freight  traffic  has  been  created. 

The  Long  Island  experimental  farms  have  been  managed  on 
economical  lines.  Money  has  not  been  lavished  on  them.  On  the 
contrary,  they  have  more  than  met  their  own  expenses.  So  suc- 
cessful have  they  been  that  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  established 
a  similar  farm  on  the  Delaware  Peninsula — already  one  of  the 
greatest  truck-growing  sections  of  the  country.  Here,  however,  a 
different  proposition  must  be  met.  Some  of  the  land  has  been 
exhausted;  instead  of  increasing  the  fertility  of  the  soil  all  the  time, 
farmers  have  permitted  it  to  deteriorate,  until  to-day  great  difficulty 
is  experienced  in  growing  crops  that  10  years  ago  were  produced 
in  abundance.  The  Railroad  intends  to  demonstrate  the  fact  that 
there  is  a  great  opportunity  there  to  improve  the  land. 

All  of  the  efforts  on  this  experimental  farm  will  not  be  directed 
to  that  end,  however,  as  the  Delaware  Peninsula  is  fortunate  in 
having  both  a  soil  that,  for  the  most  part,  is  as  fertile  as  any  in 
the  country,  and  farmers  whose  intelligence  is  as  far  advanced  as 
that  of  the  farmers  of  any  section  in  America.  The  Railroad  now 
intends  to  demonstrate  what  vegetables  and  fruits  and  staple  crops 
can  be  grown  on  the  peninsula,  in  addition  to  those  that  are  now 
being   cultivated   there. 

VI 

The  Railroad,  however,  must  do  more  than  create  traffic. 
After  persuading  the  farmer  that  he  can  make  a  greater  profit  by 
varying  his  crops  and  raising  certain  vegetables  or  staples  that  he  has 
not  been  growing,  the  Railroad  must  assist  him  to  market  his  crop 
profitably. 

To  meet  this  contingency  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  is  under- 
taking to  exploit  the  agricultural  districts  through  which  it  runs. 
The  plan  aims  at  supplying  to  commission  and  produce  merchants 
desiring  to  buy,  a  list  of  reliable  growers  and  shippers  of  com- 
modities in  various  territories. 

In  addition,  the  Railroad  supplies  information  that  may  be  de- 
sided  regarding  the  commercial  interests  of  different  districts.  If 
any  one  is  seeking  a  farm,  a  manufacturing  site,  or  a  suburban  home, 
the  company  supplies  a  list  of  real  estate  agents,  and  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  available  properties. 

Ill 


HANDBOOK      OF      EXPLOSIVES 

When  a  railroad  creates  traffic,  and  markets  as  well,  it  must 
offer  a  train  service  that  will  place  the  commodity  in  the  most  favor- 
able market  in  the  best  possible  condition.  This  is  done  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  through  the  operation  of  preference  freight 
trains  on  fast  time  schedules,  so  arranged  that  the  freight  will  reach 
the  market  at  the  time  when  commission  merchants  make  their  de- 
liveries to  their  customers. 

In  this  manner  does  the  Railroad  supply  a  market,  and,  by  so 
doing,  while  improving  the  condition  of  the  farmer,  it  receives  a 
revenue  from  hauls  to  various  parts  of  the  system,  instead  of  a  haul 
to  one  market,  and  that  one  near  by.  The  acreage  planted  in 
produce  increases,  and  a  corresponding  growth  is  felt  in  the  traffic 
offered  the  Railroad  for  shipment. 

Agents  of  railroads  scour  the  country  for  advance  information 
about  farm  crops.  They  realize  the  extent  of  a  tonnage,  the  value 
of  which  is  expressed  in  billions  of  dollars.  Special  agents  go  out 
into  the  byways  and  hedges  to  see  the  growers  themselves.  They 
obtain  by  personal  interviews  information  which  enables  them  to 
estimate  correctly  what  crops  will  be  offered  for  transportation.  In 
this  way,  cars  are  provided  at  different  stations  at  appointed  times 
and  crops  moved  with  dispatch. 

For  instance,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  makes  an  official  esti- 
mate every  year  of  the  peach  and  pear  crops  of  the  Delaware 
Peninsula.  This  is  sent  to  buyers  in  the  different  markets,  who 
are  enabled  to  regulate  their  contracts  accordingly. 

VII 

What  does  it  all  mean  to  the  Railroad?  It  means  there  will 
be  more  fertilizers  to  haul,  more  farm  implements,  more  raw  material 
from  which  these  tools  are  made,  more  crops  to  haul,  and  more  pas- 
sengers to  carry;  it  means  that  the  Railroad  will  be  doing  its  duty 
to  the  public,  to  its  stockholders  in  the  intelligent  exercise  of  its 
initiative,  and,  when  reduced  to  a  finality,  that  the  Railroad  is  per- 
forming its  share  of  the  work  which  must  be  done  by  the  newly 
formed  partnership.  Railroad  and  Farmer,  if  agricultural  communi- 
ties are  to  progress  and  prosper. 


112 


O^'Sf^r 


